> Bri's FMA Enhancement for Dirtside II
[snip]
Funnily enough, we've been having thoughts about this very concept recently,
to the extent of writing up a few ideas; as Brian has posted his suggestions,
I thought I'd put up what we'd been working on as well, to get some reactions.
Note that these ideas are largely untested (due to too many other demands on
time!), and are NOT intended to in any way replicate the
probablities of the chit-draw system - they are a new and simplified set
of mechanisms entirely. We also have not yet got as far as extending the
concept to things like infantry and artillery, until we see if the basic idea
works.
Apologies if there are bits that don't make sense, but these are just my
working notes at this stage, and were not intended for public consumption!
DIRTSIDE ACCELERATOR: (Playtest version 1.0, copyright GZG 1999).
New faster-play hit resolution system for DSII:
This experimental new resolution system replaces the chit-draw method of
determining hit effects for anti-vehicle fire in DSII, using a single
opposed die roll system. It is of necessity much simpler in terms of the
range of effects, giving a simple kill/no-kill result; as such it is
probably more suited to larger force games where a quick-and-dirty
resolution of combat is required - any "kill" result can be considered a
"mission kill" that renders the target ineffective for the remainder of the
game, and does not have to necessarily indicate total physical destruction.
Resolution method:
After acquiring a hit on the target using the standard method specified in the
DSII rulebook, the firing player rolls a single die according to his weapon
type and MULTIPLIES the score rolled by the CLASS of weapon used. The Target
player rolls a single die for the type of armour his vehicle carries, and
multiplies the score rolled by the Armour Class.
If the Firer's final score EXCEEDS the target's, a kill is achieved - if
it is equal or less, the target survives.
Weapon Impact dice types:
HEL: All ranges D4 HVC: Close range D8, Medium range D6, Long range D4 MDC:
Close range D10, Medium range D8, Long range D6 HKP: Close range D10, Medium
range D8, Long range D6 DFFG: Close range D12, Medium range D8, Long range D4
GMS*: All ranges D8
* GMS/H counts as Class 3, GMS/L as Class 2, GMS/P or IAVR as Class 1.
Armour die types:
Primitive (WWII type) armour D4
Basic (late 20th/early 21st Century type) armour
D6
Enhanced (late 21st/early 22nd Century type) armour
D8
Superior (state-of-art late 22nd Century type) D10
Ablative armour: +1 die type against HEL only.
Reactive armour: +1 die type against HVC or GMS.
Example:
HKP/4 at Medium range (D8) gets a hit on an armour-3 target with Basic
armour (D6); Firer rolls D8 x 4, target rolls D6 x 3. If firer's score is 3, x
4 = 12; target must roll at least a 4 to equal
(4
x 3 = 12) - on a 3 or less it is a kill. Should firer roll 5 or more (x
4 = 20), a kill will be automatic (since target cannot score over a total of
18).
Example:
GMS/H gets a hit on an armour-4 target with Enhanced/R (Reactive) armour
(D8 + 1 = D10);
Firer rolls D8 x 3, target rolls D10 x 4. Firer's score is 5 (x 3 = 15), and
target's roll is also 5 (x 4 = 20); the hit fails to disable the target
vehicle.
> On Sun, 7 Mar 1999, Ground Zero Games wrote:
> DIRTSIDE ACCELERATOR:
it also gets rid of the "firer systems down" result, which always struck me as
a bit space opera (mud opera?).
> Resolution method:
this sounds rather like what i've picked up of SG2.
you could allow damaged vehicles by saying that if the firer and target score
are equal, damage ensues. this would happen with some frequency if the weapon
and armour levels were the same (as often as if it was an unmultiplied roll),
but if they are different, there are fewer ways it could happen. eg, gun 3 vs
arm 5, you need to roll a multiple of 5 on the gun die and a multiple of 3 on
the armour die. i think.
maybe this is realistic: a big gun can fail to kill thin armour only by
completely mucking up; a small gun can kill thick armour only by a lucky hit.
thus, you never get the partial penetration a damaged result would suggest. i
think this is pure PSB.
> Weapon Impact dice types:
another way to state this would be:
HVC D6 HKP D8 MDC D8 DFFG D8 HEL D4 GMS D8
- shift +1 for short range, -1 for long range.
- HEL and GMS count all ranges as short.
- DFFG doubles range modifier.
> * GMS/H counts as Class 3, GMS/L as Class 2, GMS/P or IAVR as Class 1.
thus GMS are more effective than their size class would suggest?
also, i see the GMS/P has finally made an appearence in DS2. hurrah!
> Armour die types:
D10
my only complaint is that this breaks the existing system, which only has one
armour quality. of course, we could just declare that all existing armour is
Enhanced or Superior.
> Ablative armour: +1 die type against HEL only.
sounds ok. what is the difference in statistical terms between putting the
modifier here or in the armour level?
all in all, a very cool possible extension. anything which cuts down on
counters is always nice.
Tom
[Much Snippage]
All right, all right, I've got to get around to playing DSII again. Soon. One
question, though:
> Weapon Impact dice types:
D4 seems a little harsh for the HEL. Why not D6? The HVC does only red at
medium range, and the MDC and HKP do only red at long range, and they both get
D6. Of course, D4 vs. Ablative armor would make be entirely appropriate.
I haven't had time to read the original posts carefully, but Thomas
> Anderson wrote:
> maybe this is realistic: a big gun can fail to kill thin armour only
The "damaged" result represents two things to me: Either "partial penetration"
(ie, the shot penetrated but too little of its energy got
through to do serious damage), or full penetration but in a non-vital
area (blew off some of the targetting sensors, damaged the comm gear etc).
There is usually very few items in a combat vehicle that don't
contribute to the vehicle's performance though, so any internal damage -
even if it doesn't kill the vehicle - would reduce its performance in
some way.
Regards,
> DIRTSIDE ACCELERATOR:
Jon, in my opinion, anything that gets rid of the chit-draw system is A
Good Thing.
If it actually works simply and well, make that A Very Good Thing.
I agree. HEL should be D6. Both HEL (at any range) and HVC at medium range
both draw only Red chits, so should sue the same die.
Also, shouldn't GSM/H be class 5 (since it draws 5 chits) and GMS/L be
class 3 (since it draws 3 chits)?
> John Crimmins wrote:
> [Much Snippage]
Soon.
> One question, though:
> I agree. HEL should be D6.
Quite possibly. Some of these were OTTOTH* figures, without looking back at
the DSII book to check (I only wrote the thing, you can't expect me to
REMEMBER it too....) :-/
Jon (GZG)
* Off The Top Of The Head.....
> John Crimmins wrote:
Soon.
> One question, though:
> DIRTSIDE ACCELERATOR:
[...]
> Weapon Impact dice types:
[...]
I like where this is going, though I also think the HEL should prolly be
boosted up to D6.
Also, another thought, instead of rolling one die and multiplying it by the
size of the weapon, why not roll X number of die where 'X' is the size of the
weapon?
And if you complain about the potential large number of dice that will be
rolled, bear in mind how many die get rolled in any good volley of
weapons fire in an average FT game. :-)
As for special things such as 'systems down', 'immobilized', 'BOOM', etc, you
could easily roll a seperate die (d20??) along with the rest of the
mess, and cross-correlate the results there to a short table. I *really*
don't see that as being a problem.
Mk
> Kipling quoter <KOCHTE@stsci.edu> wrote:
Adding them up, would make the total too average for big guns, as low dice
scores negate high dice scores. If the dice were rolled separately, and only
the highest dice counted, then any roll which exceeded the target's highest
armour dice score, would destroy the target. This would be less predictable.
If the totals match, the target is damaged, instead.
For example, if I'm firing my quad MDC/4 armed VSC:7 'mech at medium
range at a armour 5 target, I would roll 4 D8 versus the target's 5 D10. Then
I repeat this procedure for extra barrel that hits the target. If one of my D8
exceeds the highest of my target's armour dice, then my target blows up.