RE: Vector movement

>On 2 Jun 1998, Geoffrey Stewart wrote:
>
>> The vector system does add some complication, but not much,
>
>True, but my finding at last year's Ropecon was that the movement
system
>is already too complicated for a con demo. The only sensible games I
>managed to play were with players who already knew the system -- even
>though I had made a large cheat sheet describing the procedure and
format
>of the orders.

I find this surprising. At all the demos we've run, we've never had more
than a tiny number of players (of all ages, from 8 or so upwards) that
have
had any problem with grasping the move and order systems within a couple
of
turns at the most.
>
>> AND it makes it a
>> much better game as well. The range of manoeuvres increases, position
>>becomes
>> much more important, and whole areas of new tactics are opened up.
The extra
>> work and complication is not great, and the benefits are. When I run
demos I
>> will be using the vector system, and emphasing the "realism" of the
>>system as
>> opposed to "cinematic" movement of the ST type.
>
>I'm not too thrilled with the vector system. I passed my high school
>physics, so it is painfully obvious to me that the system abstracts
away
>even the basic laws of dynamics.

I'm going to regret asking this (and if it gets too lengthy we may have
to
take it to private email for the sake of the other list members'
bandwidth
and sanity), but I'd be interested to hear your (simplified?) reasoning
on
this, and how you would improve on it while retaining playability?  :)
>
>At least the cinematic system honestly says what it is.
>
>The problem is that with a real realistic system, you soon end up
playing
>the ship's navigational computer instead of the captain.

Agreed, which is why we feel the current vector system is close enough
for
the right sort of "feel" without simply becoming a piece of unpleasant
maths homework....

Jon (GZG)
>
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