Last night I played through a few games of Throwdown using the new scenario system I've been working on. Here are some photos of the setup:
Here you can see how the layout is made up of large and small tiles. The small tiles include a point which may be the deployment zone, the objective zone, or sub objective zones. When you arrange the scenery you don't know what each one will be to ensure fairness.
The idea is that the areas outside the board are some kind of impassable terrain... Blocked off streets or canyon walls etc. This style of layout is inspired by video games and the frequent posts about how the Mass Effect game on Dropship Horizon.
There are a few problems that became apparent on my test runs though. The first is bottlenecks... I think the game worked much much better when played on a 16" square with dense terrain. This is because of the multiple pathways. The bottlenecks created by this sort of layout are probably quite realistic, but they are kind of boring to play with the rules I have written so far. To go back to the video game analogy, I had built a *single player* level, as opposed to a well designed multi-player level, which allows more freedom of route. Single player levels in video games are reliant on scripted events to keep them interesting, and this is complex to simulate in a game like this which is intended for fast solo play.
I'm now in the difficult position of realising that the rules I have taken this far have succeeded in most of the goals I set out to achieve, but at the expense of enjoyment. That elusive fun spark that are even more important to a solo player, as the camaraderie and competition of a live opponent are absent.
I think that combing player and enemy actions into a single deck of cards works fine for head to head play, but in a solo situation a better solution would be to have dice based mechanics, the player controls his models as he wishes, and the game engine determines the enemy actions.
This could be done with cards in several novel ways, but in the end, dice and charts are probably best. The Department rules look like they have done an admirable job with this concept, and on paper at least I like the look of them better than THW systems.
So it's not looking good for Throwdown as it currently exists. On the bright side, there are plenty of terrific rules systems out there for everyone to enjoy while I have yet another hack at this beast.
Check this out too.. I bought a Laser Fuchs linear beam laser for checking LOS... I find it to be well worth the money spent. It's awesome!
Well, tonight, I'm going to try out the Department. I need to think about something else! Hopefully a report will follow.
The idea is that the areas outside the board are some kind of impassable terrain... Blocked off streets or canyon walls etc. This style of layout is inspired by video games and the frequent posts about how the Mass Effect game on Dropship Horizon.
There are a few problems that became apparent on my test runs though. The first is bottlenecks... I think the game worked much much better when played on a 16" square with dense terrain. This is because of the multiple pathways. The bottlenecks created by this sort of layout are probably quite realistic, but they are kind of boring to play with the rules I have written so far. To go back to the video game analogy, I had built a *single player* level, as opposed to a well designed multi-player level, which allows more freedom of route. Single player levels in video games are reliant on scripted events to keep them interesting, and this is complex to simulate in a game like this which is intended for fast solo play.
The more I ran the game through different scenarios, the more I began to get the sneaking suspicion that I'd designed something that was very "clever" but wasn't enough "fun".
The mechanics are pretty slick IMO, but I had a better time playing TRWNN, which is simultaneously simple and messy.
I'm now in the difficult position of realising that the rules I have taken this far have succeeded in most of the goals I set out to achieve, but at the expense of enjoyment. That elusive fun spark that are even more important to a solo player, as the camaraderie and competition of a live opponent are absent.I think that combing player and enemy actions into a single deck of cards works fine for head to head play, but in a solo situation a better solution would be to have dice based mechanics, the player controls his models as he wishes, and the game engine determines the enemy actions.
This could be done with cards in several novel ways, but in the end, dice and charts are probably best. The Department rules look like they have done an admirable job with this concept, and on paper at least I like the look of them better than THW systems.
So it's not looking good for Throwdown as it currently exists. On the bright side, there are plenty of terrific rules systems out there for everyone to enjoy while I have yet another hack at this beast.
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| Pew Pew! |
Well, tonight, I'm going to try out the Department. I need to think about something else! Hopefully a report will follow.
