On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 8:26 AM, Hudak, Michael <
mihudak@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just a few comments on FT Light after looking over it for an
evening......
[...]
Dislikes:
No Rerolls - I understand limiting weapon selection to simpler systems
for an easy to play ruleset, but rerolling 6's is a lot of the fun of
beam dice. The look of glee on a new player's face when they happen to
string a few 6's together is priceless. And also gives a good building
point for additional rules (shields and armor come to mind)
Yeah, but note that there are *no* defensive systems on these ships: no armor, no shields, etc. This is boiled down, more basic than vanilla FT. Totally an intro to the game for new players. Once they get used to the basic core rules, then they can relish and swim in the main rules and advanced rules. :-) (and optional rules if they want ;-) )
Icons - Namely, for Pulse Torps. May just be a factor of being used to
what the 'old' icons look like, but it's nice to look down on an SSD and
at a glance know what weapon systems you have. Only time I looked
inside the arc circle would be to see what size beams I have, knowing
Pulse Torps were a line, needle beams a line and a dot, etc.... If this
is the way that the weapons systems are going, then I vote for the old
icons, but YMMV.
There was some discussion about the icon on the playtest list, but I think Jon wants to change things up a little bit, and this is a good place to start. The more astute amongst you may note that this is the same icon used for S'V stingers. When we get to those in the main FT3 rules we will address this and have a different icon for those systems. Sometimes change is good
Unsure:
Two engine slots - I do like that it's easier for new players, that they
don't have to worry about halving an engine on the first hit. My only
concern is the unlucky threshold check rolls (or standard Indy rolls)
that take out full maneuverability with one check. And as there are no
repair rolls in FTL, it kinda sucks for a new player's ship to be dead
in the water after sustaining a first threshold. Granted, that's a 1/36
chance, but some people's 1/36 happen more often than others..... (You
know what I mean....)
The idea was to 'break' from the rigid single box for an engine IF players wanted to, in order to give different character to ship designs. So, you COULD have a thrust 4 ship and have one engine block (if it thresholds, though, it all goes down), or divide it into two engine blocks as per the new SSDs with 2 thrust pts each, or even break it up into four engine blocks of 1 thrust pt each..
What's in YOUR wallet? :-D
Final Question:
These rules are intended to draw people into the game, and ultimately
sell some miniatures. For me, the best spot to do this would be a
buddy's comic book store where he has heroclix games from time to time.
We all know how easy it is to order online from Jon, and quick to boot,
but what do I tell my buddy the store owner that would prefer to sell
the minis through his shop? I know he won't stock them on a shelf, but
I could see getting an order together from people playing. (Granted,
this means I need to get myself motivated and PAINT my minis...... And
then put on some demos. :-))
Well, whaddya waiting for?? Get crackin' ya cracker! :-D
Conclusion:
All in all, I like the FTL ruleset. It's what I'll use to bring my
daughter into the fold. I have a few concerns, but ultimately they're
minor, and I can always move up when she's ready. :-) Thanks for
making these!
I've a friend here who is going to use it to introduce his nephew to the game. :-) Now he's trying to decide which fleets to buy and keeps looking over mine to see what's what. :-D
Thanks for the feedback, Mike!
Mk