Wargame Vault

Showing posts with label Full thrust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Full thrust. Show all posts

Monday, April 19, 2010

Full Thrust Morale ideas

A discussion on morale in Full Thrust on The Miniatures Page prompted me to dig out an idea I had back in 1997:
==
How about this approach:

Morale effects work to suppress targets rather than rout them except
in rare circumstances. 

Those you who've played the old tabletop Armada naval rules may
recognize and appreciate my "sea-dog" type events!

My assumption is Firecon's represent bridges or C and C's for the
B5ers if you will :-) and reflect the ability of the ship to control
itself and how it responds to incoming fire.

They're pretty simple, easy to remember, fun, not *too* silly and
follow the "D6" principle. Modifiers are restricted to avoid "Morale
check mantra" syndrome.

"Fly her apart then!" Morale Rules. (c) Bob Blanchett. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Jon Tuffley may of course reprint these with thanks.)

Procedure:
If a ship is fired on by three or more opponents, at least one of
which is inside 12" and at least one of which is their size (escort,
capital etc) or larger, 

The owning player rolls one D6 adding the number of undamaged
firecon's and other modifiers,  reading the result below:

9/more  "Target that explosion and FIRE!"

8/more No effect. If Cruiser, "Target that explosion and FIRE!"

7/more  No Effect.  if Escort, "Target that explosion and FIRE!"

2 to 6  No effect. No longer subject to
  "Target that explosion and FIRE!" result.

1. May only fire at one target this turn / Carrier may launch OR
recover (not both)

0. Fire supressed; No targets allowed on this or next turn./
Carriers may not do anything at all this turn.

-1/less Oh Dear.. 
 As result "0" plus roll a D6:

 1."Warp 9! Any heading.. engage!" 
  Roll a D2 to determine port/starboard. 
  The Ship must turn as hard as possible 
  as fast as possible; next turn. 
         
 2. "Jumping through Hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, Boy!"

  Ship must plot to disengage by FTL next turn.
  If a "Press Attack"  result is received next turn, the
  ship may remain on table. 
  If no FTL drive ship "strikes". 
 
 3. "Uh now would be a good time..Uh Scotty? Scotty?"

  Ship maintains course, and increases thrust by
  maximum next turn.
  If Maneuver drive is damaged/destroyed ship "strikes".
 
 4. "Ship Strikes"
  Ship maintains course and declerates by max until it  
  heaves to and surrenders to an enemy ship within 6".
  If at later any time no enemy ship is within 36"
  boarders are repelled on a 4+ (or fight a boarding
  action) and the winner gains control.
  OPTIONAL: roll a D6 when heaved to; on a 6, the
capturing ship
  is itself captured by the surrendering player.
     
 5. "Ship Strikes"  
   
 6. "Ship Strikes"

  or OPTIONAL(but recommended): 
"Lets blow this thing and go home!" or "Lets plow the road!"
  No Targeting restrictions.
  Infused by the "force" or perhaps that flask of  
  bourbon in your flight suit, you forge on targeting  
  all bearing weapons on your closest enemy forward or  
  your closest enemy with two rerolls of any single die
  when you shoot next.

Other Morale results:
"Target that explosion and FIRE!"
Ship must close to within 12"of the closest enemy ship of it's size or
larger and target as many weapons / fighters as possible until it is
destroyed or captured.
Test morale every turn ignoring all but "No Effect" and "Target that
explosion and FIRE!"

Modifiers.
-1 Ship on last line of damage points track.
-1 "Worse" Crews.
-1 FTL OR Maneuver drive destroyed.
-1  Any nominated Flagship destroyed OR  50% of fleet ships destroyed.
+1 Testing ship or any friends within 6" subject to
    "Target that explosion and FIRE!"
+1 or -1 (tester's choice)"Better" Crews.
==
This post on GZG-L kicked off the thread  way back when.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Full Thrust and Imperium Redux!

I got an email today from Jeff Lyons who confirms himself as the original author of the Full Thrust/Imperium crossover SSDs!

Jeff's happy to share, so I'll post all his material and a zipfile below.

I have to admire him as he resisted the temptation to do a sprawling Starfire or VBAM campaign..

A small operational campaign as a battle generator  was always the way to go, but Too much galaxy spanning "Doc" Smith and Iain M. Banks has spoiled me and left me with a desire to release my inner Helmuth.

Personally I blame Steve Cole. Federation and Empire, which is scaringly getting a re-release. I call it Federation and Accountancy. if a game needs banning, F&E is it.


Some Kiwis have also done a similarly effective scale effort to Jeff with a FB1 campaign using "Stellar Conquest", which I will get around to one day.

Warp War is also just the right size. anyone want a PBEM game?

Back to Jeff.. behold below. and Jeff? Thanks, sincerely from all of us.


Backstory
Full Thrust / Imperium ship design sheets

A little back story...

Don Hawthorne wrote a rule conversion set for splicing Imperium and Full Thrust/More Thrust... I just tried to bring it up to speed with the Full Thrust Fleet Book 1 rules.

Version 1, we just lifted FT:FB1 ships of about the right cost and roughly the right design.  We used the Imperium rules to buy ships, pushed them around on the Imperium map and fought battles using FB1 rules.

Version 2, I tried to "simulate" the ship designs implicit in the ratios of combat factors on the board game counters.  There is a text doc in the .ZIP file explaining the guidelines I used in designing these ships.  The working budget was based on the RU cost in-game.  The conversion rate was 1 RU to 25 FB pts for warships and fighter squadrons, 1:50 for monitors, it appears to have been well over 1:100 for transports and the like.  Don't recall if motherships' RU costs include the fighters or if they are just shown on the SSD and will have to be purchased separately at 1 RU each.

Version 3 was a cleaned up version with better anti-fighter defenses, etc.  Added the Imperium RU cost of each design and the original board game combat factors on the SSD.  Tinkered with planetary assaults... the file "misc2b" shows one attempt.  Use at your own risk... not playtested.  Basically, I treated the whole planet (a painted 12" light globe) as one big space station; measure range from any point on the surface.  Make up any PSB you like to justify it; meson guns, orbital defense sats, whipping missiles around by way of gravity well maneuvers... whatever.

I was working on Version 4 ... which was wandering well away from canon FTFB rules... when I quit working on the project.  I've included a couple of samples (terran3V4 and vilani3V4) just for grins.

It works okay if you take it for what it is; a quick and dirty way of using the Imperium board games as a campaign system for FT:FB1 tabletop battles using designs that are kinda sorta representative of the ratios of beams, missiles and defenses shown on the board game counters.

It is not and was never intended to be a faithful simulation of the board game...  nor does it draw much, if anything from the broader Traveller universe.  Rather, it was primarily a means of using the Imperium board game to generate FT tabletop games.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Jeff Lyon



Conversion
Missile factors:

Based loosely on the designs in the Fleet Book and the most
useful configurations of launchers and magazines.

 1 - submunitions pack x1  (mass 1)   *scout/destroyer
 2 - submunitions pack x2  (mass 2)   *destroyer
 3 - SMR x1                (mass 4)   *N/A
 4 - SML x1, magazine x4   (mass 7)   *light cruiser
 5 - SMR x2                (mass 8)   *attack cruiser
 5 - SML x1, magazine x6   (mass 9)   *heavy cruiser
 6 - ER/SMR x2, subpack x1 (mass 11)  *missile boat
 6 - SML x1, magazine x8   (mass 11)  *heavy cruiser
 7 - SML x2, magazine x8   (mass 14)  *strike cruiser
 8 - SML x2, magazine x10  (mass 16)  *strike cruiser
 9 - SML x2, magazine x12  (mass 18)  *dreadnought
10 - SML x3, magazine x12  (mass 21)  *monitor/dreadnought II
11 - SML x3, magazine x15  (mass 24)  *N/A
12 - SML x3, magazine x18  (mass 27)  *battleship

Beam factors:

Also based loosely on FB designs and attempting to closely match the 
total mass of an equivalent missile factor.

 1 - mass 1      *scout
 2 - mass 2-3    *destroyer, light/strike cruisers
 3 - mass 4-5    *destroyer
 4 - mass 6-7    *dreadnought
 5 - mass 8-9    *heavy cruiser
 6 - mass 10-12  *heavy cruiser/dreadnought
 7 - mass 13-15  *attack cruiser/battleship
 8 - mass 16-17  *N/A
 9 - mass 18-19  *monitor 
10 - mass 20-21  *dreadnought
11 - mass 22-24  *N/A
12 - mass 25-27  *battleship

Screen factors:

A bit more abstract; more a measure of the level of defenses than
the actual mass devoted to defenses.

 1 - Lvl 0 screens, max 1 PDS, no armor, weak hull (or less)
 2 - Lvl 0 screens, max 1 PDS, some armor, weak hull
 3 - Lvl 0 screens, max 1 PDS, no armor, weak hull
 4 - Lvl 0 screens, max 2 PDS, some armor, average hull
 5 - Lvl 1 screens, max 2 PDS, no armor, average hull
 6 - Lvl 1 screens, max 2 PDS, some armor, average hull
 7 - Lvl 1 screens, max 3 PDS, some armor, average hull
 8 - Lvl 2 screens, max 3 PDS, some armor, average hull
 9 - Lvl 2 screens, max 4 PDS, good armor, average hull

* an AFDC system is standard on all ships with a screen
  factor of 2 or greater except monitors
* increase max PDS by 1 for ships with no beam factors
* monitors have one extra level of hull integrity



OB based on FB1 designs

Vilani Imperium - (assuming FSE designs)

target budget: 950 pts. for warships
2x Scouts - Mistral class (variant with subpacks) (56 pts.)
4x Frigates - Ibiza class (244 pts.)
2x Lt. Cruisers - Suffren class (362 pts.)
1x Hvy. Cruiser - Jerez class (293 pts.)
Total: 955 pts. spent

Plus:
1x Bulk Tanker
4x Heavy Freighters
3x Planetary Defenses (+500 pts. each)
1x Monitor - Roma class battleship.  Delete FTL and 7 hull boxes.
   New mass: 85, new cost: 300.

-------------

Terran Confederation - (assuming NSL designs)

target budget: 550 pts. for warships
1x Missile Boat - Waldberg/M class missile destroyer (101 pts.) 
6x Scouts - Mistral class (standard configuration) (168 pts.)
2x Frigates - Ehrenhold class (134 pts.)
1x Lt. Cruiser - K.P. Wilhelm class (161 pts.)
Total: 564 pts. spent

Plus:
1x Bulk Tanker
6x Heavy Freighters
3x Outposts (mass 80 each)
2x Planetary defenses (+500 pts. each)
1x Monitor - Richthofen class battlecruiser.  Delete FTL and 5 
   hull boxes.  Add two armor.  New mass: 87, new cost: 300.
 

SSDs version 3 Vilani #1:






















SSDs version 3 Vilani #2:














SSDs version 3 Terran #1:
 













SSDs version 3 Terran #2:


















SSDs version 3 Misc #1:















SSDs version 4 Vilani #1:















SSDs version 4 Terran #1:














Zip file of All the above material

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Invasion of the Space Grognards!

Are you a Space Grognard?

Oh dear, It's an Imperium week it seems..

I pull my finger out and put the SSDs up and the next thing I know..

It's Invasion of the Space Grognards!, Holy Klono and by the scorched nose-hairs of Noshabkeming! pass me another bottle of Rhysling's Rotgut..

I stumble across another group of Imperium addicts:

A Yahoo group that was hiding under my nose in a link off Imperium's entry at BGG, when I thought that the WarpWar group was the only one offering refuge to Missile Boat Maniacs..

Timbo74 pops up and declares himself Marc Miller's lovechild and wants a PBEM game of Imperium  he's dashed out and got the PDF download  at wargames vault. (now who said blogging is a usless and pointless exercise? It got me an opponent!)

Keith Frye reminded me to "Keep the Flame!" on the Stargrunt-Full Thrust Yahoo Group.

Don Hawthorne and I exchanged curmudgeonly reminiscences via email about FT in the good old days and I observed about the Fleet books and "FT3" that:
"..as an old geezer I understand but there is a "toad syndrome"  that
insists on the newest latest shiniest and fastest amongst the youth ;) .."


You could almost hear us going "..I remember when Four firing arcs were good enough for anyone.."

As a good Space Grognard, I do a bit of scouting and evangelizing for FT tracking down Google alerts for "Full Thrust" and  connecting with the many pockets of the 'Net and wider world that don't seem to be part of the "in" crowd of GZG-xCC attendees or GZG-L denizens..

You'd be surprised how many people "heard" of FT and got into it on their own or haven't hooked up with many other players. Newbies or returnees.. all need a helping hand and light shone onto the FT/GZG Community.. that's one reason I setup the GZGfinder.

Consider it my wargaming equivalent of  the CoDominium Oath of Reunion...  theres a lot of "outies" that need  connecting up!

One such is a thread on RPG.net. at the moment:
The First post in this thread convinced me that as a Space Grognard I have a meta-duty to fledgling players to welcome them and bring them along, especially if I want to keep playing the stuff I enjoy in my dotage.

so far we're up to...
Privateer:I actually prefer having a stable platform of rules that doesn't change on a 4-5 year compulsory basis.  That goes the same for Dirtside 2 and Stargrunt 2.

Agreed I dont like Rules churn either., 

FT and Jon's approach to gaming and rules is in many ways a bit of a test, but one I find refreshing.

its flexibility and "nothing written in stone" approach is great unless you are a "rulebook" guy or game with people who arent prepared to be flexible with house rules/mods  or simply aren't of the experimental or "suck it and see" bent when it comes to fiddling wih rules.

That FT gets used as a competition set of rules and has a design system will always tempt people to break/bend/test/minimax the rules

sometimes getting wargamers to agree on anything is like washing cats.. some people will concede houserules or mods here and there to get a game rolling, some people will fight to the bitter end as if violating "the book" was an affront or heresy.

that having been said, I enjoy FT and want to keep playing it, keeping the game alive and giving it a public "pulse" is important  and while fan sites and support helps, *nothing* works for a game (and a newly introduced player) like the adrenaline of a newly acquired  rulebook..

the "unborn" next generation of Full Thrust players who perhaps have been bought up on a dihorrea of editions and expansions of Ginormous Workshop games have been spoiled by the visual riches thus published to some extent..

the "try out" or "suck it and see" experimenatlism where youd find a set of rules a few pages long in the latest "Miniature Wargames" and try them with your mates seem to have withered...

Wargaming doesnt have its "Young Turks" but  but rather "young anoraks" mumbling  "but the new 9th edition codex says  the Space Wombles Chapter Librarian doesnt get a storm bolter, you can't kitbash figures, that's  like  ..wrong"

Ahh new rules...

I just bought Bag the Hun 2 and Might and Reason for Seven Years War..  its always a buzz, getting into new stuff or revisiting old stuff again.


all this Imperium stuff tends to get me singing Mel Brooks thanks to song entry in a BGG Contest that got me some geekgold last year:

Vilani were having trouble
What a sad, sad story
Needed some new planets to restore
their former glory
Where, oh, where were they?
Where could that land be?
They looked around and then they found
The stars for you and me

And now it's...

Springtime for Dingir and Vilani
Vland is happy and gay!
We're boosting to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race!
Springtime for Dingir and Vilani!
Vland's a fine land once more!
Springtime for Dingir and Vilani
Watch out, Terra!
We're going on tour!
Springtime for Dingir and Vilani...

Look, it's springtime once more!

Winter for Barnard and Sol

Springtime for Dingir and Vilani!

Come on, Vilani
Go into your dance!

I was born in Guusmegraguul und that is why they call me Cool.

Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Solomani party!

Springtime for Dingir and Vilani
Goose-step's the new step today..

But the point of my Post is that if You're a Space Grognard then you have to give something back,

  • welcome a newbie
  • let them reroll that Damage control roll
  • get those house rules you've thought a about a try 
  • or better still shared and posted on the net, 
  • organize a  game at your club  rather than turn up expecting  someone to have organized something.
Do that now, by Klono's Boranium Bollocks, so that you can play what you love in the times to come.  you mightn't get direct benefit for your efforts, but someone will and the hobby will be better for it.

Altruism works especially in the wargaming hobby, so work for it!

"...Then you make the sacrifice willingly? No fame. No armies or banners or cities to celebrate your name?...How do you know the Chosen Ones? "No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother." Not for millions…not for glory…not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see. I have been in the service of the Vorlons for centuries, looking for you. Diogenes with his lamp, looking for an honest man willing to die for all the wrong reasons. At last, my job is finished. Yours is just beginning. When the darkness comes, know this: You are the right people, in the right place, at the right time..."
    -Sebastian, Comes the Inquisitor.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Full Thrust / Imperium SSDs and Integration Packet.

It's deliberate that I make no secret of my two favourite boardgames: GDW's  Imperium and A House Divided 
Now available from Marc Miller of farfuture.net through your friendly PDF supplier

Or Dark Nebula? Random Geomorpic maps? exploration? 

Be tempted at USD4.95 its a baargain.. if only other publishers kept their back catalogue on the front burner as well..

So imagine my delight when a few years ago I found Don Hawthorne's Full Thrust integration packet with Imperium at Chris Weuve's website.
(Chris, like me, is also a Stellar Conquest and Triplanetary fan as well)

I'd tracked down some SSDs (I know I'm sorry I'm a recovering SFB player!) on the internet archive but the IA doesn't archive image files consistently..alas

Mark Drake recently posted on  Boardgamegeek that he had some SSDs but no hosting space, having started this blog, a light globe (Black Globe? ;)  moment ensued an I offered to rehost them here..

I've emailed Don Hawthorne who has hapily agreed to allow a z9m9z link to Don's Ful Thrust/Imperium Integration packet

Don replied "..I'm happy there is still enough interest in both games to warrant my little effort being kept available..."

Well so are we, Don! thanks!

If you love Traveller and Full Thrustlook no further than British Isles Traveller Support's (BITS) Power Projection:Fleet - which has a fabulous Campaign System and Full Thrust Based Combat system and a conversion to Full Thrust from the High Guard and. Other Traveller ship design Systems..
(the Imperial Tigress class BB SSD is truly scary)

So here are Mark's Full Thrust SSDs for the Ships of GDW's Imperium

Terran Capitals, Monitors and Cruisers.






Terran DD, MB and Scouts







Vilani Capitals, Monitors and Cruisers






Vilani Cruisers, DDs and Scouts


I must ask Mark if he washed his ship designs through the PP:F conversion system or if these were "windage/RoThumb" FT designs,

On the other hand if you have stats for the ships of Imperium in another Traveller design system, please pass them along as washing them through PP:F would be an interesting exercise.

NB: if you'd like a PBEM game of Imperium, do get in touch :) or A House Divided

Now if only I could get a game of WARP WAR!

NB EDIT: Mark advises he got them off a bloke named Doug Evans way back when on GZG-L. thanks Doug! 

EDIT 2: Don Hawthorne has responded and is happy for the IP to be linked here.. he sounded rather chuffed that people are having fun with it!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Why I play Full thrust and my gaming origins

Now I have to Apologize upfront for earlier posting unpainted Full Thrust Lead and tempting poor Timbo74 with new things to clog up his painting table, given he's got lots of Luverly Tumbling Dice stuff to do for Bag the Hun..

His poor wallet's vibrating like one of Sauron's Rings!

The SSD above is why I abandoned StarFleet Battles and Starfire and sought out the Oasis of Full Thrust and why BTH is so appealing to me!

"Play the period, not the rules"  a revolutionary sentiment and not before time!

I started gaming in 1982 with RPGs like D&D and Traveller - which I'm
still fond of, especially the GDW boardgames of all genres, like A house divided and Imperium.

In 1983 I put an ad in a local games shop to play Star Fleet Battles
with someone and I met someone with whom I found a Club, The Knights
of the Square Table.
that person didnt stay the distance but I did and the club played more
games and periods than I knew and was my first experience with
miniatures (WRG 6th) and
serious boardgaming, Civilization, Diplomacy, Risk, Empires in Arms,
Starfire, Kingmaker, Machiavelli, Blue Max, Railway Rivals/Dampfross, A
house divided, Imperium, and panzer pusher games like Europa as well
as beer and pretzel games like illuminati and Naval War, Settlers and
great Euro games like Shark, El Grande etc

We also played a great campaign of "En Garde" now published by paul
evans at engarde.co.uk.. hybrid RPG/semi boardgame lots of fun.

my boardgamegeek.com profile is at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/gurubob

these days I mainly played two player boardgames(house
divided/Imperium RAF:1940) as players and time for large multiplayer
ones are hard to find.
If I have time for a boardgame, I'd rather it was a "wargame" and not
a family one unless its settlers of catan

I loved Blue Max and anyone willing to teach me Wings of War will hae
an opponent.

I only ever did 15mm..I had a small Republican Roman Army (lost or
stolen long ago) and have Austrian an Prussian Seven Years War Armies,
which have seen all sorts of rules come and go,
WRG 6th, 7th, DBM, now DBA on the one hand and WRG 18th Century Rules,
Age of Reason and im looking to perhaps get back into Seven Years War
with Sam Mustafa's
"Might and Reason" for which a friend in Melbourne is a playtester and
contributor. I'm a terrible painter!

My first miniatures were for Star Fleet Battles and I guess as my dad
was in the USN as a kid the naval thing stuck and I also got a few
1/1200 scale Sailing Ships for !8th century and Napoleonic periods. with those I played with S.Burnie's "action under sail" from Navwar, Heart of Oak rules were
around but not played.

We did a few carribean pirate campaigns..
it wasnt until 5 years agoI found Rod Langton's eautiful ships and his
great rules, "Signal Close Action" and "Fast Play" I havent looked
back, Though I will be checking out Toofatlardies, Kiss Me Hardy.

I recently began looking at Pre-Dreadnought Naval battles in 1/3000
and have bought small German and US cruiser fleets from wtj.com to use
with David Manley's "Fire when Ready" and "Perfidious Albion" rules. perhaps also DBSA!

As SFB and Starfire got too complex and expensive, I was looking for
fun and I certainly found it with "Full Thrust", I have quite a few
fleets and unpainted lead too.

I ran a few SFB and Full Thrust competitions in the 90s in Melbourne,
but now play Full Thrust with GZG fleets and also some Babylon 5
fleets too.

Space/SF gaming is a love and Imperium from GDW was my first, I play
"Stars!" an old 4X computer game by email and love the old Microgame,
"Warp War" and "Stellar Conquest", along with Travellers "Trillion Credit
Squadron" and "Fifth Frontier War" are great inspirations for
Spacefleet campaigns.

I play "Diplomacy" occasionally on one of the many internet servers
and am trying to learn to play GO with my fiance.

At the time I began, in 1984 the KOST club rented a house, one person
lived in it and it was a riot! after those great days in the 80s we
changed venues a few times and KOST moved from a high school to two
scout halls and became the NSGA.
The club split and folded in 2007 when some idiot agreed to let LAN party games in and they didnt pay their way.

A few wandering years and one of our number, a greenskeeper,
relaunched KOST early last year at a local lawn bowls clubrooms, as
social bowls members, we have a bar and nice tables,
although not the plovely purpose built ones the Spieltrieb has. in
Australia, Melbourne Anyway, no club has exclusive permenant rooms and
tables apart from DBA tend to  be ply/chipboard 6' by 4' tabletops painted green on top of any suitable table over which blue/black/green cloth is thown if someone
has it.

The club I play at in Melbourne is the Knights of the Square Table.
to get an idea of the scene back in Melbourne, have a look at
http://homepage.mac.com/sfinlay/australian_clubs_vic.htm.

http://conquest.asn.au/ and cancon http://www.cgs.asn.au/index.html
are the two conventions I played at.

Bag the Hun by Toofatlardies has grabbed me as has the Tumbling Dice 1/600 miniatures and the 1/285 Raidens sold by Dom's Decals.  I also splahed on some Leading Edge Boulton Paul Defiants and Dornier Do17s sold by Museum Miniatures.

The new BTH2 rules are fabbotastic!

more unpainted lead!

Friday, February 19, 2010

the firestorm armada vs Full Thrust brouhaha lets build connections, not throw brickbats

[really useful discussion started completely offhand by accident by servitob at 6 inch move comparing FS:A to FT]


despite all the bullets I REALLY would LOVE a review of FS:A
mechanics, gameplay, where its stodgy, where its quick, where players can contribute to the game creatively ie are there design rules etc, im no FT taliban but the thing that is different about FT is that Tuffley taught us to fish rather than giving us a fish each. the basic frameworks been provided and its been adapted to just about every genre you can think of from steampunk to sail to manga to BSG to B5 and Star wars, the cross over dimensions rulebook only recently compiled has that and more.

as far as  availability goes well  theres a difference as im sure you know  between brand presence/marketing and supply of goods.

GZG is a one/two man business and they are almost totally devoted to making miniatures churning out new casting designs thats literally where their bread and butter is Jon simply doesnt have the time/funds  to spend on marketing or rules development which is left to a cadre of unpaid playtesters who have FT3 in a looong beta until jon can review/proof/typeset/arrange artwork for somethng he can send to a printer

tuffleys approach to rules is akin t the glorious days of the 70s when anyone and everyone ran off their own rules on gestetner in a no fuss no hype way.

 the problem is mass-market rulebooks have become picturebooks and that's what the younger, more visual readers  think the hobby is about.

as an FT player who wants to bring new players to the game, I know the importance to a newbie of being able to hold a rulebook in your hand to feel like the games alive and "yours". its a point ive highlighted and pushed (I think playtesting of FT3 could be more visible, but alas its all close-hold)  but ultimately its down to Jon.

FT is also highly fungible.. and that freaks some people out, who want "the rules" or "the universe" and all the backstory ready made but like I said GZG is a miniatures company and  theyve not the time to do so, the fans have filled the gap and you wil NOT see GZG  doing internet wide takedowns as others have.

for me FT is the best bang for your buck around when money is tight(and it is)

Jon doesnt want to be a Corporate Jabberwocky and thank god for that

your OP has been good,its highlighted that the hobby is wider than just one game and how new releases do stand on the shoulders of giants.

"Brand capture" a policy that a customer is only active in a  niche with  one company's products (for GW that means  their aim is that THEY *are* all of wargaming to their buyers) is antithetical to the wider hobby as it creates games-systems ghettoes and destroys communities and interchange between periods systems and genres.

it might be good for business but its bad for the "hobby", diversity Is great, but isolation and  systems bigotry isnt.. either as a commercial strategy or club policy

FT has two conventions  in the US and at least one in Oz., but alas keeping brand "mindshare" has been left to the fans who do their part, keeping the rulebook in print, is important even though its free.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Leaving Frankfurt.. reflections #4 New unpainted Lead and Bag the Hun (verdammt!)

"My name is Bob and I'm a Wargamer ..
..Hi, Bob"

It's Tuesday, I leave Sunday noon. and SWMBO (my smarter cuter half, the fiancee, AKA She Who Must Be Obeyed - say it in stentorian terms aka Albert Finney in the Dresser and you get the idea, she's German and wouldn't have it any other way) and I have gone for the comfort dinner: proper German Bröt with Brötherring.. fried herring marinated ..  on bread as only the Germans can do.. delicious!

Anyway.. what does a wargamer do? seek comfort in buying more lead of course!

The times being as they are a few disposal recession bargains are floating about and Greg (fellow clubmate and he of the blog The Ammunition Box) has acted as postmaster for my purchases which I will savour next week.

These New build New Anglian Confederation  and Federal Stats Europa ships (stats for both fleets both NAC and FSE new fleets here) for Full Thrust by Ground Zero Games I picked up these off  the trading post forums on Starship Combat News

I also got a bargain on some Kravak and UN space command fleets, stats at the link above from a local guy in Melbourne.

But the splash of the Trip here probably goes toa newly adopted game, Bag the Hun (BGG entry, TMP Review from 2005, Timbo's Advance Review(the lucky swine!) of BTH2)by those collective Lager or is it Ale-inspired Geniuses at Toofatlardies Games.

I must mention the fabulous guys at Theminiaturespage.com's WW2 Aviation Discussion Forum - I've never had a warmer welcome and more assistance when startng a new period/game witness these ramblings I'm a bag the Hun Sprog ad I have a few questions

Timbo (he of the blog  Tim's Wargaming Stuff a "local" BTH player who's in Bendigo) haven't met him yet, but have to say he's been (if you're reading this, my dear SWMBO) half responsible for the new lead I've bought.. plus he's a top bloke and genius if you need proof here's a map he made for Bag The Hun

"Where's the lead?" I hear you ask?

Well I ordered 1/600 Tumbling Dice Luftwaffe  and RAF Hurricane, Spitfire, Defiant and Blenheim Me109e  Me Bf110c Ju88 Ju87  Do17 and He111 forces plus decals all from Dom's Decals (good service and generous suport on the TMP and Toofatlardies forums, good vith order related email, I'll shop there again)

I caved in and also got Dom to send me some Gorgeous 1/285 Fighters from Raiden Miniatures look at them and DROOL. They are the best castings I've seen since Nic Robson at Eureka Miniatures cast the AB Miniatures 15mm Early Imperial Romans (I've long lusted after AB 15mm Ancients for DBA.. I will cave in one day)

Leaving Frankfurt reflections #2 Demoing Full Thrust to 2 newbies

As noted below, I'm leaving Frankfurt this Sunday.. I did some gaming while I was here..
[originally posted on boardgamegeek.com.. Scenario here.]


"..Gidday all.

I winter in Frankfurt and begaN meeting some of the smal number of wargamers (miniature and board) who are scattered about the place.

Matt is a pom who works locally and he and Oliver are members of http://www.spieltrieb-frankfurt.de/ a small club ina room about 15 foot by 8 foot. with 2 5x 3 tables.

anyway, when people ask me what I play I say Full Thrust and most gamers have "heard" of it.. and wanted to get into it.. so I evangelize a little and got a demo arranged and that was it.. I sent them links to FT light and Fleet books 1 and 2.

I wanted to teach them cinematic movement to start with but they insisted on Vector movement... oh well.

Oliver took the Kravak and Matt the UNSC -as these were the figures Id brought to aint on Holiday I only had a 0 brush with me so im not showing you the paint jobs until theyre done ;)

This was their first game of Ful Thrust.
I did some demonstration movement, went through the weapons systems and arcs and pointed out the arcs and kill zones and range brackets for the weapons that they each had.

matt deployed Superior geneva and eyre, the three dual graser-1/beam-2 armed lake class DDs in line abreast screening the stricken carrier and waited for the Kravak to arrive. he pushed the fighters out

Oliver proceeded slowly and almost in a sail broadside oblique approach towards the humans, despite every KV shp ever made have front arc primary weapons.. I almost wanted to yell "get in there, son!" to encourage him to swoop in. he decided when in 30 MU range to split his fire with K-guns and did soe scattering of damage.

the fighter groups spooked him a little and did the job of pushing the KV to one side of the board.

the UNSC fighters cut off and killed one of the Corvettes, the KARMA, in exchange for getting one group totally mauled (down to one fighter) on the turn the engines on the ranger came back to allow her to move off at thrust 2. the UNSC heald back until the first of the reinforcements arrived, the UNSCS BISCAY then a Kravak Reinforcement the PARMA CL arrived and sped in.
The UNSC fighters killed the other Corvette at the cost of the damaged group and the Kravak defenses left the single remaining group with one fighter.

The Kravak fnaly decided to close and did a double threshold check on the DD EYRE damaging engines knocking out the port graser and the beam-2, matt later reaired the graser.. in response the UNSC DD's now having a target inside the 18MU graser range opened up on the RISHATHRA and lets just say they umm performed rishathra on it..

The graser dice were ugly with two rerolls.. not the sort of hiding that you like to see dished out to a newbie.. I stopped counting the dice pips at 22.. the RISHATHRA is an ex ship it ceased to be.

Oliver had little luck with his reinforcements for the rest of the game he didnt get any help but snuck one DD in and scored a few points on the Range as it loped along doing 5 points in a high speed run before the DD went off table..

Matt beagn to move up table an then the AMAZON arrived, but played little part in the action by the point at which we called time or rather my fiance did, on the game.

in hindsight, beng a newbie scenario, I should have reserved the reinforcement rolls for myself to keep it balanced for as long as I could and also provided a list of orders to make plotting orders clearer and a bit easier.

Its led me to think about how FT vector movement should be explained and taught as this was the only confusing issue for the players in the game..."