Re: (DS): Systems per Class

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 10:47:06 -0400 "Laserlight" <laserlight@quixnet.net>
writes:
<snip>
>   SG and DS claim to be SF games, but you can't do with them things
>that present-day troops can do (eg laser-designation for artillery /
>missiles).  

And won't be doing with a  H. S. Calliope on the table!

So while they are good *games*, they are not good as
>*science fiction*.   That's a hazard of anyone's writing science
>fiction, not just limited to GZG.  Ideally you would be able to use
>the system to play Viet Nam scenarios and Iraq scenarios too, but if
>you have grav tanks and helmet comms and plasma guns and such in the
>rules, they ought not to feel like Merkava and hand signals and
>bazookas.

Then they aren't Vietnam or Iraq are they?

>    To fix that, something has to be changed, but it doesn't
>necessarily need to be the basic mechanics--could be  "vehicle
>movement factors" and "artillery accuracy" and such.  Or it might need
>to be mechanics--for example, the range from d4 to d12 might not be
>enough to cover the difference between the sights for a T72 and a Mk1
>Bolo while still capturing the difference between the T72 and an
>Abrams.

Agreed but D14, D16 and D18 aren't common yet...  Maybe a Percentile die
system?

>   Ideally, playing Nam - era	scenarios in SG / DS will feel the same
>as they do now, but playing scenarios from a war in 2100 will feel
>substantially different.  If not, why play a SF game in the first
>place?
>

Agreed.

>>  "What do you (plural) think a SF war game should be like?  What
>elements
>> are not in SG 2 and DS 2 that should be to reflect that view?"
>
>Better comms.	Higher movement rates.	Cover less important; sensors,
>countersensors, and point defenses more important.  Drones / RPVs.
>Fast and deadly.
>
>
Sounds good but each one of those features would require a delicate
balance to keep from becoming 'Sub Hunt on Land' or "EWO Officer"
instead
of a DS 3 game.

Gracias,
Glenn
Who is not against improvements but change that makes the nature of the
game radically different from combined arms or increases complexity to
the detriment of the game.

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