Progress on Fields of Fire Deluxe Edition moves ever forwards. With the layout & design folk at GMT freed up from other projects (and everyone back from having fun gaming at WBC), the mission books are full speed ahead. First up will be Vietnam, this is the most complex of the books so we thought it best to get the layout perfected here and then everything else should be easy. New mission layouts, updates to missions, units, package lists, events, almost everything has been rewritten from scratch. This one has the most campaign specific rules too, so we think it’s best to get it online and into the hands of the community quickly who will no doubt let us know if our rules are as clear as mud and need further improving before they go to the printer.
We stress-tested the new counter sheets recently and made a few amendments, they’re done now (really this time!), so work can begin on making the Update Kit sheets. Three sheets, 525 counters. 115 of those are extras for people who want to upgrade their 1st edition sets straight to 3rd edition. You’ll find corrected counters, new counters, QoL counters and a bunch of recoloured NKPA units in there. We’ll include some kind of guidance on which counters are new, which are replacements and which 2nd edition owners can ignore. You can find more info on the kit here: Fields of Fire, Deluxe Edition Update Kit.
It’s been fun watching Youtubers get to grips with the draft 3rd edition rules recently, I know it’s tricky without the new Mission Books and counters to support them, but we’ll get those out for you all soon! There will also be a Living Rules update based on the past nine months of internal discussion, plus feedback from playtesters, proofreaders, folk on BGG and Facebook and Youtubers. The master doc has a few edits noted here and there for clarification and some updates to the images to submit. Looks like we’re approaching 500 edits in total (big book, they do add up!).
Talking of stress testing, having Made the Cut last month, a small group of us are playing through the first of the Fields of Fire III campaigns right now. After we’ve made some adjustments, this will be ready for wider playtesting. You’ll find a call for playtesters in the August 2023 newsletter. The Falklands campaign is the least complex of the three in the set, so we’re looking for people who can already play the game, aren’t intimidated by the Normandy campaign, and are looking for something different to try. These will be followed by the Arnhem campaign and Afghanistan as they become ready for testing.
Finally, those of you following wargaming news on Twitter or who attended WBC this year may have noted that Ben Hull was there showing off a Tarawa/Saipan set. As expected, his prototype shows off some new innovative ideas for the series and feels quite different from the previous amphibious invasion of Peleliu in FoFII. It’s quite a long way off yet, but we’re quite excited about this one.
So, there’s this to look forward to along with a deluxe upgrade for the Peleliu, Chosin Reservoir and Hue campaigns from Fields of Fire II at some point. There are a few things to work out, but hopefully these upgrades and the Tarawa/Saipan set will be compatible not only with Fields of Fire II, but also Fields of Fire Deluxe so everyone can enjoy them.
Tarawa/Saipan Prototype Module Samples (not final components)
And now back to work. I see “Bunker” needs adding to the index, and a definition of what “Under Fire” actually means is required on the Enemy Activity Hierarchy chart somewhere…
Andrew Stead
Fields of Fire Series Developer
Author: Andrew Stead
Based on the very rewarding experiences that I had doing proof-reading for Lee B-W on the Wing Leader series (in comparison to some other, more frustrating, ones), I would strongly encourage the FoF Deluxe Edition team to allow adequate time for several close proofing passes by multiple proof-readers, as well as having the proof-readers review the corrected text afterward, before you submit the final material to GMT. While absolute perfection (i.e., no errata) is beyond our human capacity, I’ve always felt that Lee making provision for thorough proofing brought the Wing Leader series close to that standard, and hopefully, with this new 3rd Edition, FoF can aspire to that level of quality as well and overcome the stigma of its past. Keep up the good work!
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the comment!
We’ve had several proof readers take multiple passes at the various versions of the rulebook, mission books and other material over the past 18 months. The most intricate of which are still ongoing. In my experience most proofreaders have an easier time sorting through properly laid out docs for errors. Sending the mission books to GMT for layout is not the same as GMT sending it to the printer. Just makes for a document that’s more pleasant for the proofreaders to work with.
I don’t know how this series became ‘cater to the lowest common denominator’. There are always going to be people not capable of learning certain games, and these people always blame the game, not themselves.