Re: [OFFICIAL] Where we're going from here...[LONG RAMBLE!!]

On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, Allan Goodall wrote:

> >Oh, and between everything else, we're
> >also considering a FANTASY version of the FMA system (provisional
title:
> >BLOOD AND THUNDER) which will be playable at any level from
man-to-man
> >skirmish right up to mass-battle and with any scales from 6mm to
25mm;

<snip>

> In another message I sent last night, I mentioned that _Fantasy
Rules!_ has
> a pretty good stranglehold on the "alternative to Warhammer" side of
the
> hobby. It's also building quite a following. This might be your
strongest
> opponent in this realm.

And just like GZG, Chipco is a very small operation - two people :)
And FR! is written for use with any models you happen to have, and
works in any scale, too.

> I just read your comments, though, and hadn't
> realized you were intending to create a game that handled skirmish to
full
> battles. That's rarely been attempted and I don't know of any game
that
> actually succeeded.

Neither have I. The problem is basically Detail vs Playability - ie,
in a skirmish involving a few dozen men per side, the equipment and
training level of each fighter will be quite important, and you can
afford to keep track of the morale of each fighter or small group of
fighters. In a large battle (...ie, thousands of men per side) the
exact equipment and training doesn't matter too much - it averages
out anyway, and if you try to keep track of it you'll need a week per
turn. I once tried to fight a battle between one legion of Romans -
roughly 5000 men - and roughly the same number of Gauls, using
Warhammer rules... no, I don't have that many figures. We used
counters to represent the various sub-units. Anyway, we gave this
(historically speaking rather small) battle up after two turns and
two weeks - the detail level was killing us, and no-one on either
side had any grasp of what was happening strategically. Just as
historical commanders must've felt if they got involved in the
fighting, but much slower :/

Basically, Jon, you're attempting to do a game which covers both DSII
scales and SGII scales. Why?

> I think that would be the edge that got people
> forgetting about FR! and that other company's game.

If it can be made to work, perhaps. If not, it'll kill B&T very fast.

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson

"Life is like a sewer.
 What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
 -Hen3ry