Re: [DSII] Heresy

On Thu, 4 Apr 2002 12:17:28 -0800 (PST), John Atkinson
<johnmatkinson@yahoo.com> wrote :

> 
> --- John Crimmins <johncrim@voicenet.com> wrote:
> 
> > I think that many people aren't really concerned
> > with historical effectiveness, and some it is of
> > questionable relevance in any case.  Who needs extra
> 
> > gunners if you have a dedicated AI slaved to each
> > weapon system?  And didn't David Drake make a good
> > case for open-topped vehicles with his Combat 
> > Cars?
> 
> No, David Drake was writing about Vietnam, therefor he
> had to include ACAV M-113s which were open-topped,
> therefor he wrote in a PSB that made them effective. 
> If artillery could not be shot out of the sky by every
> single machine gun in the Regiment, they would make
> less sense.

Which is kind of my point -- you can use PSB to justify all kinds of
weird design choices.  Ogre, for example, has lots of open-topped APCs,
and they 
use a totally different justification for it.

(Personally, I've been converting those same vehicles into mortar
carriers and AA vehicles; don't much like the open-topped look.)

It really depends on what assumptions the players want to make.

> > And, maybe I'm alone in this, but when it comes to
> > gaming I find that enjoy a glorious defeat more than
> > an easy victory.  Usually learn a lot more that 
> > way, too.
> 
> Hey, I am not going to to TRY to loose.  I'd going to
> design to win.

I go for the fun; winning isn't necessarily fun for me.  Satisfying,
perhaps, but not always fun.  Best game I ever played, I was wiped out
to the last man.

And again, I'm designing both forces for my games.  Unless I want them
to be identical, some sub-optimal choices are going to be made somewhere

along the line.

> > Hey, did anyone ever attempt to assign a point value
> > to the Hammer Slammer's "Powerguns" that Mr. Tuffley
> > posted about so long ago?
> 
> Umm, I don't think so.  There's no way to point out
> weapons that have the range of an HEL, killing power
> of a DFFG, oh and can substitute for PDS and ADS
> systems as well.

Could they function as AA?  I know that they could in the books, but in
Jon's rules; I think that he left that bit as an exercise for the
student.  I'd leave 
that capability out, frankly, unless I was actually running a Slammers
scenario (which, having seen the Salute site, I am far too intimidated
to attempt).  
I'll have to look up the post when I get home, assign some outrageous
cost to the system.  Another design choice for those who prefer running
the 
Shadow ships in FT....

-- 
John Crimmins
johncrim@voicenet.com