Post by lessthanthac0 on Feb 11, 2020 9:01:44 GMT
I finally had a chance to play War Fleets and enjoyed it immensely. I'd like to share my thoughts and ideas for the game. I’d also like to thank Darguth, AgeIsGrimm, and Cerkaine for their previous posts and commentary. Obviously, a huge thank you to OPR for making this great game.
The Battlezone: I’ve been playing my games on a 3’x3’ mat and setting up within 6” of of the edge to maximize space. It works well but a 6’x4’ would be too large at this point size. 4’x4’ is probably just right for 4-500pts.
The Fleets: I think larger fleets with more Battleships would be fun. Maybe one Battleship per 300pts.
Deployment: Great!
Mission: Great start! I do think the game could use an extra round or two. Maybe at the end of the 4th round roll a D6 and play another round on a 4+, end of the 5th plays another round on a 5+, 6th round 6+.
Playing the Game: Works well.
Activation: Great!
Movement: I agree with those who think this could be tweaked. I’m fully in support of rules that are more Cinematic than Simulation, but thoughtful movement to line up firing arcs while dealing with inertia is a defining part of the Naval Combat Genre.
I’ve never liked the rule where ships have to complete half their move before Turning because it means Scouts can’t Turn nearly as tightly as Battleships. I prefer when each ship class has their own minimum distance before Turning. I propose…
Minimum Distance before Turning (+1” if a Ship is Cruising)
Battleships: 3” (4” when Cruising)
Destroyers: 2” (3” when Cruising)
Fighters: 1” (2” when Cruising)
Scouts: 0” (0” when Cruising)
I think Turming should be harder for larger Ships and easier for smaller ones. I propose that after moving their Minimum Distance, Battleships can make up to One 45 Degree turn, Destroyers make up to Two 45 degree Turns, and Fighters up to Three. Any Ship would have to move it’s Minimum Distance before each Turn. Scouts remain unaffected by this and can still Move and Turn in any direction.
For Ships that don’t move, Battleships or Destroyers could turn 90 Degrees while a Fighter could turn 180 Degrees.
Shooting: I think weapons should have Firing Arcs (unless that component is specifically turret mounted). They could be mounted in two 90 Degree Arcs. Either dual Front for 180 Degrees, or Port & Starboard for 90 Degrees each. Anything more detailed would need a Starship Point Calculator (Please!). Perhaps Scouts could only fire in a Front 90 or 180 Degree arc to give them some interaction w/ facing..
To Damage: Great!
Damage: Great!
Ramming: I haven’t tried this yet.
Morale: I’m not sure if the 50% that triggers a morale check is based on the number of ships or their point value. RAW seems to imply the number of ships but I think Points is a better metric. What Admiral w/ a Battleship and 3 Destroyers is going to flee because they lost 4 Scouts?
The all or nothing aspect of Morale seems a bit harsh. It’s been suggested that each ship take their own leadership test but that could be a lot of tests for a large fleet. My thought is, If an Admiral fails their Morale Check they are Destroyed. The largest remaining ship takes a Morale Test (Battleships first, then Destroyers, etc.). Ships that fail the Test are destroyed until the first ship to pass the test becomes the new Admiral and takes command of the fleet. These tests could be at -1 when the original Admiral has been destroyed, and an additional -1 if the fleet is below 25% it’s initial size. A natural roll of 6 would always succeed.
Fleet Creation: This is a great start and very usable, but… if War Fleets could get a Points Calculator for Ships that would be Amazing! Imagine the variety of Fleets that could be created w/ customization and special rules. It could also help even out some of the components by Class, i.e. “No ship that small has a cloaking device!”
The only specific Component I have a comment on is Boarding Parties. I don’t understand how launching a boarding party against another ship could damage your ship, or how the condition of your ship could affect that Boarding Party’s performance. I could see your opponent getting a free counterattack if they have the Boarding Parties Component, but how does a ship without the Boarding Parties rule get over there in the first place? This is a great and flavorful rule, I just wish it made more sense.
If measuring from Bases is the way to go, it could be nice to determine base sizes for each Class of Ship (Scouts on 25mm or Scouts/Fighters on 32mm, Destroyers on 40-50mm, Battleships on 60mm) and then everyone could scale their diverse 3D printed ships to fit “Reasonably” on a base of that size.
...And that’s all I have to say about that! If you’re still there then thank you for reading my rant. I’m obviously enjoying War Fleets and will continue to in any case. Cheers.
The Battlezone: I’ve been playing my games on a 3’x3’ mat and setting up within 6” of of the edge to maximize space. It works well but a 6’x4’ would be too large at this point size. 4’x4’ is probably just right for 4-500pts.
The Fleets: I think larger fleets with more Battleships would be fun. Maybe one Battleship per 300pts.
Deployment: Great!
Mission: Great start! I do think the game could use an extra round or two. Maybe at the end of the 4th round roll a D6 and play another round on a 4+, end of the 5th plays another round on a 5+, 6th round 6+.
Playing the Game: Works well.
Activation: Great!
Movement: I agree with those who think this could be tweaked. I’m fully in support of rules that are more Cinematic than Simulation, but thoughtful movement to line up firing arcs while dealing with inertia is a defining part of the Naval Combat Genre.
I’ve never liked the rule where ships have to complete half their move before Turning because it means Scouts can’t Turn nearly as tightly as Battleships. I prefer when each ship class has their own minimum distance before Turning. I propose…
Minimum Distance before Turning (+1” if a Ship is Cruising)
Battleships: 3” (4” when Cruising)
Destroyers: 2” (3” when Cruising)
Fighters: 1” (2” when Cruising)
Scouts: 0” (0” when Cruising)
I think Turming should be harder for larger Ships and easier for smaller ones. I propose that after moving their Minimum Distance, Battleships can make up to One 45 Degree turn, Destroyers make up to Two 45 degree Turns, and Fighters up to Three. Any Ship would have to move it’s Minimum Distance before each Turn. Scouts remain unaffected by this and can still Move and Turn in any direction.
For Ships that don’t move, Battleships or Destroyers could turn 90 Degrees while a Fighter could turn 180 Degrees.
Shooting: I think weapons should have Firing Arcs (unless that component is specifically turret mounted). They could be mounted in two 90 Degree Arcs. Either dual Front for 180 Degrees, or Port & Starboard for 90 Degrees each. Anything more detailed would need a Starship Point Calculator (Please!). Perhaps Scouts could only fire in a Front 90 or 180 Degree arc to give them some interaction w/ facing..
To Damage: Great!
Damage: Great!
Ramming: I haven’t tried this yet.
Morale: I’m not sure if the 50% that triggers a morale check is based on the number of ships or their point value. RAW seems to imply the number of ships but I think Points is a better metric. What Admiral w/ a Battleship and 3 Destroyers is going to flee because they lost 4 Scouts?
The all or nothing aspect of Morale seems a bit harsh. It’s been suggested that each ship take their own leadership test but that could be a lot of tests for a large fleet. My thought is, If an Admiral fails their Morale Check they are Destroyed. The largest remaining ship takes a Morale Test (Battleships first, then Destroyers, etc.). Ships that fail the Test are destroyed until the first ship to pass the test becomes the new Admiral and takes command of the fleet. These tests could be at -1 when the original Admiral has been destroyed, and an additional -1 if the fleet is below 25% it’s initial size. A natural roll of 6 would always succeed.
Fleet Creation: This is a great start and very usable, but… if War Fleets could get a Points Calculator for Ships that would be Amazing! Imagine the variety of Fleets that could be created w/ customization and special rules. It could also help even out some of the components by Class, i.e. “No ship that small has a cloaking device!”
The only specific Component I have a comment on is Boarding Parties. I don’t understand how launching a boarding party against another ship could damage your ship, or how the condition of your ship could affect that Boarding Party’s performance. I could see your opponent getting a free counterattack if they have the Boarding Parties Component, but how does a ship without the Boarding Parties rule get over there in the first place? This is a great and flavorful rule, I just wish it made more sense.
Scale & Measurement: This isn't in the rules but it bears mentioning. I’ve been measuring from the post my miniature sits on (pics below) under the idea that space is vast and each ship is a tiny speck moving at hyper speed so the mini doesn’t accurately represent size. If I was playing on open water, I’d probably measure from the model itself (or it’s base. This is the only practical difference I’ve thought of between Fantasy vs Sci-Fi settings.
If measuring from Bases is the way to go, it could be nice to determine base sizes for each Class of Ship (Scouts on 25mm or Scouts/Fighters on 32mm, Destroyers on 40-50mm, Battleships on 60mm) and then everyone could scale their diverse 3D printed ships to fit “Reasonably” on a base of that size.
...And that’s all I have to say about that! If you’re still there then thank you for reading my rant. I’m obviously enjoying War Fleets and will continue to in any case. Cheers.
P.S. A few pics from last night’s game, Tau vs. Necrons. 3D Models by Tezca on Thingiverse.
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