Re: Newbie question

Andy Akins wrote:

> I'm new to Full Thrust, and so I apologize for the simplicity of this
> question. But I searched for an FAQ and/or errata, and found none...

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3565/faq-index.html
 
> I'm writing (like many of you have) a spreadsheet program to build
ships
> using the system in the Fleet Book. Once I made it, I decided to test
it,
> using the example ship given in the design section. I come up short on
one
> item: the example gives the Screen-1 mass as being 5, whereas I figure
it to
> be four.

Correct. The 5 value is a typo, should be 4.

IIRC, this was the only design in the entire book we playtesters
*didn't*
check (or at least I didn't see it) <G>
 
> Side Note: I've loved Full Thrust so far, so I'm beginning to cast my
eyes
> at Dirtside and Stargrunt. I have played other games, and I was
wondering if
> anyone her could email me a decent evaluation of the games (why are
they
> good, why are they not-so-good, etc...). Feel free to compare to the
"other"
> miniatures game out there, 40K and Epic (which I'm not real fond of,
and
> would love to get a replacement).
 
Haven't played WH40K for ages and SGII only a little, so I'll leave that
for someone else.

E40K (NOT Space Marine/Titan Legions!) vs DSII, well... both have their
strong points. A very quick (some would say indecent <g>) comparision of
the two:

DSII is better for smaller games - up to a couple of battalions or so.
Rules for morale (esp. infantry morale), artillery, casevac etc tend to
be important; the detail level is pretty high. There's a lot of choice
in
the vehicle design, and the design choices are quite important. You have
to know how to use your units, or you'll lose (unless your opponent is
even more inexperienced <g>). Many people are annoyed by the damage
resolution - you draw chits instead of rolling dice, although there are
die charts out on the net as well. 

E40K, OTOH, is designed for large forces. I wouldn't field my entire
pseudo-Eldar (using Renegade Legion gravtanks, among other things) force
- approx. 140 armoured vehicles with supporting infantry,grav bikes,
aerospace support and (dare I say it) Titans - in a DSII battle since
it'd take too long to finish, but I can take it (and have done so)
against a comparable enemy force in E40K and still play the battle to a
conclusion in a day. However, in order to get this speed of play
virtually all detail has been dropped - there is almost no difference
between, say, a Predator and a Leman Russ. In DSII, there'd be a real
difference between the weapons carried, rather than just "firepower 3 vs
firepower 2".

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@nacka.mail.telia.com

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