This is the first installment of Tokyo at Dawn, an after action report created using GMT’s Enemy Coast Ahead: The Doolittle Raid. Where a word appears in bold, it references a game mechanic or rule. Chris’ last InsideGMT article, “Walking the Distant Plain” can be found here.
“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 of the Talon 1000 expansion. Since Space Empires:4x Replicators is also releasing soon and there is crossover between the two development teams, Replicator articles will be featured as well.
Issue #31 Talon 1000 – State of the Fleet
It should have been such a simple thing, the first test of Apocalypse Road. Carla & I were sure that it would work nicely on a Thunder Alley track and we chose Pullinger’s Pyramid as the first test track. This would be great, we could add four new tracks to the Thunderverse through Apocalypse Road and at the same time have 17 extra tracks already available or in production. They shoot, they score! Except…the Pyramid was really boring for this game. Of course, it needs to be more like Grand Prix, pull out one of those. Buzzzz, not much better. If the combat system is the most crucial and difficult challenge, then the track situation for Apocalypse Road was the most consistent and nagging.
It turns out Apocalypse Road tracks need to be different than the average Thunder Alley or Grand Prix track and they need to have keys terrain-wise for event cards. In addition, they need a starting grid that does not bump against the finish line and something we refer to as “The Chute”. We did some research and found that Racecross tracks seemed to fit all of our requirements, so we dove into those tracks and quickly the ‘terrain’ of Apocalypse Road was laid. All of this means that Apocalypse Road tracks do not have much in common with their predecessors except that at a distance they are identifiable as race tracks. Racing in Apocalypse Road will be a new experience even though it is governed by a familiar engine.
What sets them apart? Glad you asked.
