From: Ground Zero Games <jon@g...>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 09:58:47 +0000
Subject: Definition of FMA
[snip] > But what is FMA? OK, here goes: FMA is the name we have given to the basic set of game mechanisms that form the core of DSII and SGII (NOT FT, as this uses entirely d6-based mechanisms). [Yes, FMA does stand for Full Metal Anorak...] The core principles of the FMA system are the use of the different die types (D4-D12), with die type shifts for circumstances rather than numerical modifiers, and the combination of those dice into opposed rolls between the players. The use of the chits in DSII can best be looked at as a variant on the FMA core, with the SGII system being more true to the main principles. The FMA system also covers, among other things, the alternate move and activation sequence (with free choice of unit activation sequence, rather than dictated by any "initiative roll"), and the depiction of the quality and confidence levels of units with markers. While none of the individual elements of the game mechanisms are especially new or ground-breaking, it is the particular combination of them that defines the unique character of FMA as a system; as such, when we developed SGII we felt that we ought to give a name to the basic rules engine; FMA seemed as good an idea as any other! Stripped of the SF bits, the core of FMA has proved an amazingly versatile game engine (it has been tried, by us and others, for SF, Fantasy, Vietnam, WWII, Wild West and many others); as such, and allowing for the fact that you can't copyright an actual rules mechanism, we felt that giving the system a name at least gives us some kind of moral rights over the "look and feel" (to use the legal term) of