[GZG] Fwd:[from Jon T] FT Screens & FMA (was:Re: FMA Quest)

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Jon is suddenly experiencing interference from the Phalons in posting to
the
list, so I'm forwarding on a couple of replies from him on a couple
threads.
So, read on!

Mk

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com>
Date: Sep 14, 2007 3:27 AM

.........................

1) On FMAS:

>I can tell you that the test list does have it, and there are a
>certain select few members on the test list that have the latest
>version of the rules. Which people they are, I don't know (the last
>version I have is now several years old (2004), and I *think* Jon is
>going in a slightly different direction now with them). And I've
>heard no progress reports from them through the test list of late,
>either (then again, iIve been rather embroiled with FT3 testing ;-)
>).
>
>It's in the queue. I don't know where in the queue, but it's in there.
>
>Mk
>
>On 9/12/07, Evyn MacDude <<mailto:infojunky@ceecom.net>
>infojunky@ceecom.net> wrote:
>
>
>On Sep 12, 2007, at 2:57 PM, Damo wrote:
>
>>
>On Sep 12, 2007, at 1:27 PM, Evyn MacDude wrote:
>
>>The TMP has asked, any body have a status report
>about FMA?

>.....................

I suppose I'd better answer this, even if it does open a huge can of
wormsŠ. ;-)
Yes, FMA(S) exists, in various forms.
Yes, it's been sort of "under development" pretty much since I
published Stargrunt II, which is just over 10 years ago.
Yes, I do PLAN to finish it (or at least get it to a web-publishable
stage) at some point.
No, I don't know when that time will be.
There are (as has been mentioned) various versions of the system
posted in various places, some public and some limited access; most
of these versions are fragmentary and incomplete, some contain ideas
which have only seen very limited playtesting and may or may not
work. It is because the game is still in this very unfinalised state
that I've never done a "proper" public beta test release.
The bottom line is that FMAS will only ever be more a labour of love
than a commercial product to me. I WANT to get it finished because I
like the system, I think it works very well and deserves to be used
(and those folks who have tried it - in its various incarnations-
seem to agree).
25/28mm skirmish games are a crowded marketplace at the moment, and
with our (GZG's) current emphasis on the 15mm and Starship ranges
I'm afraid FMAS keeps getting put back onto the "pending" pile;
every now and then I drag it out, add a few new ideas (and sometimes
decide they're not as good as what I had before, so throw them out
again), and then it goes on the back burner again as something more
urgent screams for attention.
I'd love to be able to say that it'll be out by Christmas, or next
year, or next decadeŠ. but I can't. It'll happen when and if I get
the spare time to do what needs to be done with it.
My apologies to anyone who's emailed to ask about it and not got a
reply; I TRY to reply to most mails, but I don't always manage it
with the volume of mail I have to wade through, and if I don't
answer one immediately it can get buried by the deluge of stuff
following behind it. :-/
Jon (GZG)
.......................

2) On FT Screens:

>One way or another, I just don't like the whole PSB behind human
>screens in this game.	What self-respecting military mind designs a
>defensive system that completely overlooks pretty much all the most
>devastating weapons both your own and every other species has ever
>designed and then invests 5 or 10% of their warships' mass in it,
>which basically all comes out of the ship's weapons payload?  Neat,
>so you reduce the damage from one particular limited class of
>weapons by 20-30%, do absolutely nothing against all the others, and
>in the mean time your own firepower is reduced by 25% or so in
>return.  Awesome plan.

The simple, and honest, reason is that it comes from the very early
days of FT (the game itself, not the timeline...) when beams were
pretty much all that were used on most ships (apart from the
occasional PT or SMP as very "specialised weapons").
Of course, since then the expansion of the game has added missiles,
K-guns, Grasers and all the rest; so yes, screens are no longer
anything like as generally useful as they originally were, depending
of course on who you are fighting.  :-/

Jon (GZG)
........................