RE: 25mm Grav Bikes and Rules

At 05:45 PM 18/11/98 -0800, Brian Burger wrote:

>> The point of the rules was to create what is in effect another
infantry
>> squad type.	The rules are really just modifications of the existing
ones
>> to take into account the fact that the infantry are mounted on bikes.
 I
>> wanted there to be advantages (increased speed) and disadvantages (no
heavy
>> weapons and shorter ranged when mounted) so that game balance could
be
>> maintained.	

>Fair enough. SG2 is, after all, an infantry game. I've run IFVs with
three
>SAWs mounted on them, and they put out insane amounts of fire. A squad
of
>eight bikes (or even small squads of six or less) all with SAWs would
be
>devastating. Which may be the point, but it screws up game balance.

I've never seen or used vehicles in SG2 but it nice to know that someone
else agrees with my thoughts about a lot of SAWs unbalancing the game.
 
>> > SNIP
>> >.....troops? How about the following: After the _first_ suppression
chit,
>> >mounted units may move but not fire - they're more interested in
finding
>> >cover. If a second or third suppression chit is added, units may
neither
>> >move nor fire until suppression is cleared, as per normal infantry -
at
>> >this point, the mounted troopers bail off their bikes and hunker
down.
>>  
>> I like your ideas mind if I steal them, maybe change them a little
(I'm not
>> sure if I like the crash dismount thing), and include them in my
rules??

>Go for it. What are you thinking of as an alternative to having the
squad
>bail off their bikes when under heavy fire?

I don't have any concrete ideas about alternatives its just that I don't
like the idea of everyone jumping of their bike cause someone shot at
them.
 Though movies aren't a good factual source I keep thinking of all the
Westerns where the response of the US calvary to getting shot at by the
indians is not to instantly jump off their horses, and use them for
cover,
but to gallop out of range, regroup and then to think about dingo
something
about the indians.  

It just seems that if you are riding your bike across some open ground
with
your squad mates and start to get shot at, you wouldn't all instantly
jump
off but would instead gun the engine and drive as fast as you could out
of
there, and probably toward some near by cover to hide behind.  Then
dismount and return fire in a more organised and coordinated fashion.

Here's an idea I just had.  Maybe the mounted infantry should only do a
crash dismount if they actually take casualties from the fire, otherwise
they can continue to move no matter how many suppressions they have. 
What
do you think.

Wayne.