Re: Full Metal AAR and Other Thoughts

A leader should make it easier to make troops move, direct fire, and
improve morale, but to make troops move faster or further?

Thomas Barclay wrote:
> 
> Collin wrote:
> 
> Someone work out how far an elite trooper could run (with and without
> leader
> transferred actions) for the realism freaks on the list ;)  [Although
> how your
> sergeant can make you run twice as far by shouting at you I don't know
> ;]
> 
> ** Never been pursued by an uppity Warrant obviously.... they have
> *ways* of motivating....
> 
> Scott Wrote:
> 
> On a totally seperate front, my mind being jogged by this discussion.
> What about
> masking fire? In FMA, on the individual level, a model should
> definately BLOCK
> line of fire. I don't remember if think this is adressed in the FMA
> rules. (I'm
> away from my rules right now so can't cross-reference).
> 
> ** It does say figure scale is ground scale and if you can hide behind
> terrain, you are hidden. This I assume also applies to fellow figure
> (ambulatory sentient (or mostly so) terrain elements).
> ======================================================
> To address some of the comments Scott and Los collectively made for
> both FMA and SG2.
> 
> On an individual basis:
> Combat movement is fraught with danger and uncertainty. You might
> twist a leg, trip, fail to get moving as fast as you wanted, have to
> duck some incoming fire, etc. I've seen people dither about in the
> open for godsake! It is non-deterministic. But there are still
> multiple styles of combat movement - one is the all out sprint, the
> other is the bounding advance. (The other is the combat crawl). These
> apply on an individual level (FMA). As a squad, you don't need to
> reflect this the same way (SG2). There are also march/walk, jog, etc.
> as movement types for an individual. For an individual, combat
> movement is the product of himself and his immediate environment.
> 
> As a squad:
> Combat movement is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Any squad
> member might twist a leg, trip, fail to get moving as fast as the Sgt.
> wanted, have to duck some incoming fire, etc. This can lead to the
> whole squad fragmenting or staying together and not making as much
> progress as was desireable. For a squad, combat movement is the
> product of each individual sub-movement and the environment. The fact
> there are a number of individual sub-movements each of which is
> variable in effect mean that the squad itself moves in a variable
> manner.
> 
> So, how do we put this together in a way that provides coherent rules
> for both systems but they might have the same feel or integrate well?
> 
> SG2 exists. It has two movement types - a fixed movement, and a
> variable combat movement. My assumption is that the combat movement
> relfects a bounding style of movement. The fixed movement (I'll differ
> with Scott here) seemed to me to be march movement. And yes, you get
> two actions, so you can execute two moves. So a patrol move could be a
> 6" set move plus a fire action, whereas a light jog could be a 12"
> move with no fire. The one thing the game does not reflect directly is
> the difference between engaging a stationary target and a moving one -
> but the problem is of course that this effect is greater at short
> ranges than at long ranges (due to the degrees of arc your firearm
> must cover while tracking moving targets).
> 
> FMA is in the process of being formed. What makes sense here?
> 
> Well, a fixed move should exist. We'll call your base move a walk or
> march. Then their should exist the variable combat moves - but there
> really should be more than a single kind. There is a distinct
> difference (in terms of max distance coverable) between a dash from A
> to B and a bounding advance, or a combat crawl. These distinctions can
> (if you are happy with that) be subsumed in SG2 as being part of the
> combat move. But in FMA, they really should be represented.
> 
> I think I might recommend something like this:
> 
> MOVE ACTIONS
> 
> 2-move actions:
> ASSAULT/RUSH (Charge to enter close assault) (2dX for movement in each
> move action) (2d6" for std troops)
> FLEE/ROUT (Race madly away) (2d(X+1 shift) for movement in each move
> action) - you can run faster scared than angry! (2d8" for std troops)
> 
> 1-move actions:
> MARCH/WALK (Normal Movement, non combat)  (X+1 shift") (d8" for normal
> troops)
> PATROL/BOUNDING (Normal Combat Move) (1dX per move) (1d6" for normal
> troops)
> CRAWL (Combat Crawl) (d(X - 1 shift) per move) (d4" for normal troops)
> DASH (Run from A 2 B full tilt) (2dX per move) (2d6" for normal
> troops)
> 
> If executing any manouvre type that involves rolling more than one
> dice (FLEE, DASH, or ASSAULT), figure must make a roll against
> motivation with his quality die (to represent physical training). If
> he fails, he is gains a suppression (winding). This means if in the
> open, he follows the rules for suppression in the open.
> 
> As a benefit to those executing any combat movement (Bounding, Dash,
> Assault, Rout, Crawl - anything but a normal march or walk basically),
> enemy fires at 1 RB further. (or alternately, you could argue this is
> the normal state of affairs, and marching is the "odd man out" and
> that fire at a unit walking or marching should be at 1 RB closer).
> 
> Just another 0.02. The granularity of FMA is such that more movement
> options must be visible to the end user - the timescale is shorter,
> the focus is on one man, and the distances are shorter. This
> contributes to actually bring focus to the different types of moves
> (as opposed to SG2 where the turns are longer, the scale of movement
> bigger, and the variables more due to more people involved so a more
> approximate style with two move types is probably sufficient).
> 
> Thomas Barclay
> Software UberMensch
> xwave solutions
> (613) 831-2018 x 3008