I am being very goal conscious about what I feel is a necessary change. I don't want the rules to bloat, but there are a few areas that I think need some (semi) major tweaks. Most of these ideas surfaced during some recent expansion testing. I began to realize that I needed to 'future-proof' the base rules a bit, so that the expansion equipment and weaponry didn't rewrite ALL of the established rules.
Addition of Primary and Secondary designation to weapon arcs
First, we're making a small sacrifice in complexity to address a fairly big issue. A lot of people like the simplicity of the rules, but feel the detail (in regard to weaponry) is a bit too abstracted for simplicity's sake. I was purposeful in the level of abstraction I was adding when I first started creating the basic mechanics, focusing on the basic concept of the game: a sort of 'point-and-shoot' game car combat game with no detailed ballistics system and a big weapon die representing a big, rather generic arsenal.
Things changed over time and as the game evolved, the idea of populating slots with specific weapons became more desirable. On the first few plays, people really liked the lack of detail for learning purposes, but have frequently called for a way to add detail later, without altering to core concepts too much. Well since I have been working on expansion equipment/weapons in the form of a deck of cards, I figured I would develop these ideas together.
Starting now, every vehicle base that has more than one weapon arc will have one arc indicated as the Primary. The Primary arc will be the hard point associated with the allocated WEAPON die. The Secondary arcs will become a default small arms attack; think of it as the vehicle having a 'free' AKM-60 mounted at the second (and third) hard point. The secondary arcs will still receive the FIREPOWER bonus associated with the vehicle.
Vehicles with two arcs on the same facing (Interceptor, Gunslinger, etc) will be able to fire-link their forward arcs. If both arcs can draw a bead on the same target, a player may call a fire-linked shot at the time of attacking. The secondary arc lends an additional +1 to the primary weapon's attack roll. Player can still only nominate one attack per successful attack maneuver, but now strategic positioning will yield different effects, depending on the vehicles used.
This functionality is not thoroughly tested yet. I'm not sure how this will all balance out, or if it will balance at all. This takes a bit of a sting out of some of the multi-arc vehicles and perhaps adds too much punch to others. One of the goals has always been to make maneuvering important. Moving a vehicle to just the right position makes all the difference, especially when you can make all the variables lean your way for the roll. It was done to make this a game of moving vehicles, as opposed to a thrilling game of stationary turrets outlasting one another.
All of that said this move is being made so that when the auxiliary equipment comes down the pipeline, it will be a more seamless fit. Some weapon/equipment cards will take the place of the secondary arcs, replacing the backup weapon. The cars will become MORE customizable and new combos can/will be created. I can't wait to see what kind of odd combinations emerge. I seriously need to start brainstorming some more defensive equipment, for I fear that there will be some very nasty builds out there.
While we're talking weapons, I wanted to throw out an experimental rule. Currently we in the alpha-testing set are allowing multiple shot tokens to be used at a standstill. A player can, as a series of actions, place multiple attack tokens next to a stopped vehicle or next to a stop maneuver. Each attack token costs 1 AP and adds 1 to the total difficulty. On a complete success, the player can make ONE attack roll, with a +1 for each extra attack token - this represents the driver shooting on full auto. On a failed roll, the driver has gotten overzealous and emptied the clip! This is similar to a 'loss of control' for shooting. The flipside of the attack token is being remade into a 'click' token. A player must spend an AP (at no added difficulty) to reload. Think of it as shifting gears for your gun. It's working out pretty well so far and it seems to add a little more detail without breaking the game.
Taking the frustration out of repeat failed driver rolls
Ever had a game where it felt like you were driving in slick mud the entire time. I've had quite a few lately. I've also heard of test games were every single driver ended the turn spun-out and stopped.
The handling rules were intended to be a limiter of sorts, so that you had to do a little planning while constructing your next series of moves. The main focus is to make a distinction between 'strike and fade' builds and heavy hitters.
Where it has broken down is in the fact that my projected math isn't panning out in reality. I figured that half of failed driver rolls would result in loss of control. That's largely true, but I'm learning that half is a lot(!) I have tweaked it in a few ways
Easy turns are now 1 point difficulty moves, just to air out the maneuvering a bit
- Loss of control tables have changed to infuse more SLOWED results - a player will not get to achieve everything planned, but will not be stopped and sideways as frequently
- Some activities (like shifting gears) will simply cost an AP, but add no difficulty
Contact me and let me know what version you're currently fielding
Version .57 is on the drawing board currently and contains the changes mentioned above. If you want to upgrade, let me know.
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