Re: Limited AAR for FT at BenCon in Denver

> --- Mike Stanczyk <stanczyk@pcisys.net> wrote:
> > Got to play Full Thrust at BenCon in Denver.  This
> > is only a limited after
> > action report ...
> 
> > Having to fight system defense boats is no fun when
> > you're at equal points.
> > Both sides may have had 2400 points but since I had
> > to pay for FTL and they
> > didn't I feel that this was unbalanced.  After this
> > game, I wouldn't attack
> > this system without at least a 3000 point fleet.
> > ...

[ I missed the original message that kicked this off ]

I actually played in this game, as one of the defenders (I was
running the 4 sys-defense heavy cruisers ... you killed one of
the cruisers).

I'll add my 2 cents in saying the scenario was quite broken.

I tried to find the person who'd never played before, after the
game, just so I could tell him that that was NOT what full thrust
was like.  But never got a chance outside of the referee's hearing.

For other peoples edification (so you don't make the same mistakes):
The scenario was attack the planet, equal point value on either
side, attacker's came in randomized on the far side.

Mistakes made:
o About 1/2 of the defenders ships we could choose from didn't have FTL,
  so were seriously overgunned and overshielded.  I let my partner pick
  the ships and he picked all sys-defense ships (compounding the
problem).
 
  At the time I didn't realize that the point values on each "sheet of
  ships" we could take were equal ... I thought they were probably
  balanced based on playtesting.

o All A-bats, all 3 arcs (using More Thrust rules).  Although good for
  beginners (since they have to worry about movement less), this is a
  rather boring fleet composition for anybody whose played before.
  Make newbie ships and advanced ships and make sure that newbies play
  newbie ships and advanced play advanced ships.

o Although I don't think that attackers realized what they were doing,
  giving a new player a bunch of little ships.	New players do better
  with one or two big ships.

o The attackers, already outgunned, came in randomized.  This caused
  the attackers to attack piecemeal.

o Some of the advice given the newbie by the referee was a little dodgy.
  This is kinda a judgement call, but the referee knew that if the
newbie
  got ahead of his main line of forces, he'd get mauled.  He proceeded
  to "help" him write his initial orders ... which resulted in him
getting
  ahead of his main line ... then "adviced" him to pull up his
short-range
  torpedo destroyers prior to them even getting a shot off, thereby
extending
  their time outside of range yet inside our's.  At least if he'd
  come straight ahead he'd have gotten a shot off.

It's always easier to criticize than compliment, so the things he did
right
were:
o He ran a Full Thrust game!
o Alot of painted ships, which we could choose our fleets from those we
liked.
o A good starmap surface.
o A simple scenario.
o Sheets of fleets of 2-8 ships each player could choose from.

I had fun, although I suspect I would've had more fun if it had been
more
balanced.