Dean's comments on FT

Dean

You said the decisions in FT boil down to 1) where do I go 2) who do I shoot
first 3) who do I shoot

And you're right. And who do I shoot first is a tactical decision. But, I
may be alone on this, I don't think that it reflects RL - I don't think
it even reflects fiction. I don't think in B5 the ships fired "when they felt
like it". It had a lot to do with opportunity. Which is why the card draws are
(to my mind) preferable to the simultanous fire option (though it is the best
option for PBeM).

Now, if you worry about that robbing FT of tactics, I can think of a number of
things to answer that: 1) Fighters and missiles ( a whole other level of
thinking req'd)
2) Sensor rules - then it becomes important to not only determine where
you are going, but where you can place yourself to see stuff you or not be
seen
3) EW rules - EW handled in a less abstract way introduces another level
of
complexity (played SFB with ECM/ECCM?)

I think #2 is the big one. If you introduce to the game an aspect where people
have to make decisions about being active or passive with firecontrol, where
being seen is significant (without it, you are safe and can sneak up on an
enemy) and where seeing the enemy can make the difference between being
ambushed and doing the same to him, that's enough tactical complexity for most
of us. Too much for some:)

The "shoot when you choose" option is easy to run and from a strictly
"game-fun" point of view, it works well. From a "simulation" point of
view, its kind of weak.

My 0.02. Now back to the compile...

> Thomas Barclay wrote:

RL="real logic"? In FT, the tactical portion of deciding the target and

target priority has been abstracted to the player. Way too many factors to
consider if you wanted to simulate this in some reality. Considerations

like people involved and how they might arrive at their decision, technology,
threat, opportunity, etc.

> Now, if you worry about that robbing FT of tactics, I can think of a

> you are going, but where you can place yourself to see stuff you or not

Good points.

> I think #2 is the big one. If you introduce to the game an aspect where

Using the FT sensor rules did add some more thinking to tactics, but it's
simple and does add fun to the game if you like this. I have been using the
sensor rules in my Battlestar Galactica games to better model the show and it
has definitely added value to the game.

> The "shoot when you choose" option is easy to run and from a strictly

It still teaches you tactics. You need to think about your actions as in any
simulation. Not saying FT is a simulation, but good tactics are still
important.

Mike