RE: Blue Sky Thinking (was: Re: [GZG] re: Wanted)

David Rodemaker wrote:

>>Unfortunately many game designers confuse the game-balancing points
cost
>>system with the "in-background" *economic* costs required to build and
>>operate these highl-tech units, and that inevitably leads to disaster
>>(since the entire "in-background" purpose with tech development is to
allow
>>the design of units which give *more* bang per (economic) buck than
the old
>>technologies did, whereas the entire purpose of a game-balancing
points
>>system is to give the *same* bang per buck regardless of tech
level)...<<
>
>That's a point that I think I was on my way to making - but never
really got
>there. It's the similar reason why so many custom built fleets look so
wonky
>- nobody is constrained in having to build ships that had to do
anything but
>conduct war (let alone anything like a political limitation on what or
how
>to build things). Related is the idea that fleets have to do more than
just
>fight war - they have to show the flag, escort shipping, etc. etc. etc.
>
>Sort of the reason why I don't mind fighters being so damn effective -
we
>play campaigns and as valuable as the fighters are - the pilots are
much
>more so...

In other words, you don't find fighters terribly effective because you 
don't use the standard points system - instead you've added extra costs 
(ie., the costs of training fighter pilots and transporting replacement 
fighters+pilots to the front lines) to keep the fighter usage in check.

As a contrast, I've heard of quite a few campaigns that broke down
because 
they *didn't* consider logistics at all - which made massed fighters 
extremely lethal to mobile forces, and massed missile boats extremely 
lethal to stationary targets :-/

Later,

Oerjan
oerjan.ariander@rixmail.se

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

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