We continue our glimpse into the diverse personalities of the player roles in Volume VI of the COIN Series, Falling Sky. In this second of the series, druids advise a powerful Celtic tribe on how its young king might lead all Gaul in revolt against the Romans….
The following is a continuation of the previous Wing Leader post, which was a replay of Wing Leader Scenario V25 “Singapore Sling”, one of the supplemental scenarios provided by Lee B-W online.
Here is a peek into the character of each role in Volume VI of the COIN Series, Falling Sky, that also will get you a step ahead of the competition when you sit down to play. In this first of a 4-part series, anonymous ancient authors presume to advise Caesar on his strategy for the reduction of Gaul….
“Talon Tuesdays†is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays. It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #21: How to Build a Warhead
Missiles, perhaps, underwent the greatest number of changes during development in terms of mechanics. They are a Talon faction weapon and a mainstay of combat with a lot of character. We wanted an on-map tracking weapon, but we didn’t want it to be so complex it took away from the rest of combat and became a game unto itself. Initially, Missiles only took 2 hits to destroy and had a turn radius of 1. We were designing from a “realism†perspective at first with this. We wanted to be able to see Fighters make tight turns and dodge the missiles; and we wanted to be able to shoot them down. This proved to be a real problem. First it was too easy to shoot down a missile as Patrick will explain below. Second it made Missiles way too easy to get inside of and really diminished their power. From a practical standpoint it harmed the streamlined nature of the game as we had separate damage counters for the Missiles and the Missile turning status was tracked by flipping the counter. Now, Missile damage status is tracked by the Missile counter itself with a really simple system described on the Play Aid Card below. Patrick joined the team after we ditched the Missile turn radius but they still had a ways to go. I’ll let Patrick tell you the rest of the story.
I asked my design partner, Mark Aasted, if he wanted to write something for InsideGMT about our game, Skies Above the Reich. He came back with a pithy reply. Actually, he came back with an uncooperative, evasive, mildly combative, yet unexpected, reply. It’s worth printing here. His reply may not provide the details of the difficult and often contentious design process that must be negotiated between two intelligent and mature designers (I hear you snickering, Mark), nevertheless it elucidates a certain something about what it’s like co-designing a game. This is what he wrote back:
“Do I wanna write one? Ha ha ha…it almost sounds as if you asked if I wanted to write an article for a war game magazine. I remember how well the last one went. Hold on, let me wipe the tear from my eye and catch my breath…
“Talon Tuesdays” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays. It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #20: Talon Puzzle 1
Things are winding down here on Talon Tuesdays. In the last 20 consecutive weeks, we’ve taken you on a whirlwind tour of the Talon game system, the game’s design and events surrounding its development. We’re not done yet, we still have a few more things we’d like to share, plus I feel like there is so much more to show off! I’ve heard from the guys at GMT that the game is shipping now as I write this article so there’s a lot to be excited about. The Talon Tuesday posts will probably slow down to less than once a week going forward.
Pakistan started it. It was supposed to be a short, sharp push over the border into the disputed territory. Pakistan had prepared well, both militarily and diplomatically. Initially, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (IROP) gained tactical surprise over the armed forces of the Republic of India (ROI). Diplomatically, Pakistan secured the support of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
That was three weeks ago. Now? Well, it’s all over now. As radioactive clouds still hover over the war zone, a new regime is being established in Islamabad. Beijing is facing the most severe diplomatic pressure it has faced since the Korean War, and an international team of soldiers and specialists are preparing to move into the region to help with the ecological disaster now unfolding.
How did it come to this?
“Talon Tuesdays†is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays. It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #19: The Newest Ship in the Fleet by K. Patrick “Shadowmeld†Barley
One of the challenges we had to overcome in Talon was balancing fleet strength across the factions. We have several areas of fleet imbalance between Fighters, missiles and the Talon Dreadnaught, but as a whole the fleets needed to be able to field large or small forces that at least feel balanced. Through the first year of playtesting we started with a central ship the Heavy Cruiser (CA). Our first battery of play tests had us pitting three CAs against each other to test Talon tools versus Terran tools. It was this testing that rooted out the need to add afterburners and eventually lead to some Talon structural increases. Wave after wave after wave of Talon CAs clashed into their Terran counter parts, disruptors alight. Phasers and torpedoes fired back and as the dust settled, our win rates came closer and closer to even.
We then slowly folded more and more ships into the scenarios, first Scouts and Frigates, then Terran Light Cruisers and both factions’ Destroyers. The Talon Destroyers had us adding missiles for the first time, and while we were trying to weigh this unconventional weapon system it seems another issue flew under the radar. The Light Cruiser.
The following summary is like a five minute run down of the rules from an experienced player. This won’t tell you everything, just enough to get you pushing counters and giving you the bones on which to hang the details.
“Talon Tuesdays” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays. It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #18: The Player Aid Cards
One of the challenges of making a war game more accessible is trimming the number of tables. STOPPING play to reference something goes against making any kind of streamlined game. Not that I have anything in particular against tables: as a developer they are a fantastic tool. With them you can add a great deal of depth, flavor or choice to an action (see the article on the crit table from last week). As a player, I love them too, in moderation.
I remember the first time I picked up an AD&D player’s handbook and being totally awestruck by the fact that there was a (serious of) table(s) delineating what my 9th level fighter’s household guards have equipped. They’ve thought of everything! Simulation and theme!
