3,426 Reply by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

Hughestrog wrote:

Perhaps slightly irrelevant, but there was a TV show on the BBC years ago called Tripods.  Basically dealt with the Earth under Martian Law:
[...]
Anyone read these?  May give another perspective on target cities, how the planet fell?

Nope... never read them, but did see the comic strip version seralized in Boy's Life back when I was in the Scouts.

I don't think the series has much to do with WotW other than sharing the premise and the tripods.

But they could be useful if we ever allow the Martians to conquer Earth (or part of it).

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,427 Reply by mj12games

(3 replies, posted in News)

Huh.

Went to Border's last night, and saw that there are no less than THREE new (or at least re-released) editions of "The War of the Worlds" on the shelves...

Go to forum: News

3,428 Reply by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

In a brief review of the source text, there were ten "launches" from the Martian surface.

Assuming that each launch was of a single cylinder (or of a ship carrying a cylinder; let's keep it simple), and assuming the Martians intended to focus on population/industrial centers to start with and then mop up later, we should come up with a list of targets.

The largest cities in 1901 were:

London
New York
Paris
Berlin
Chicago

What other logical targets are there?

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,429 Reply by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

Chad Wilson wrote:
cricket wrote:

> So, let's assume for the moment that there are Martian saucers in orbit.
> What have they been doing since mid-1901?

> Probing the anal cavities of abductees and mutilating cattle,
> of course!

Of course. How could I forget? smile

> I would have burrowed a large (and secret) base of operations
> below the surface of the moon from which to conduct my
> operations.  In 1907, things were not ready, alien agents
> were not fully in place.
>
> In that time, the Martians have modified their genetics
> through selective cross-breeding to creating martians that
> look and act like Earthlings.
>
> These cross-breeds then went to work for governments across
> the world, infiltrating every important level of operations
> to help avoid the same result of the previous invasion attempt.

Certainly some genetic manipulation is in order (or better vaccines, as Rich suggested), but I've always hated the "They Walk Among Us" cliche'.

Martian should always look like Martians-- besides, we're using the half-breed thing for Space Fleet Omega... smile

However, there would be no shortage of Humans who would be willing to cooperate with Martians in sowing chaos among the governments of Earth-- anarchists would likely have no compunction about it, or at least would be easy to manipulate.

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,430 Reply by mj12games

(10 replies, posted in Starmada)

mundungus wrote:
cricket wrote:

Actually, that's where it's always been:

http://www.mj12games.com/starmada/sxca.xlt

smile

That appears to be an old version without the plain-text ship record, custom fighters, etc.

Well, it is. The "official" SXCA never had any of those options.

However, I'm happy to host whatever files people wish to put up on mj12games.com -- but someone's gotta send 'em to me.

Go to forum: Starmada

3,431 Reply by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

hundvig wrote:

Orbital mechanics alone might explain why the Martians have been quiet....waiting for another close approach, and working on their vaccines while they're at it.

That's why they landed in the arctic zones after the 1907 opposition... oops. I've said too much already. smile

OTOH, if we want the Martians to play a role in Iron Stars (other than as skeet targets), they need to have something better than interplanetary cannon shells for ships.  I still maintain we can give them proper spacecraft (saucers, of course) without contradicting Wells, whose POV characters are less than omniscient.

Sounds good to me.

The "lights on Mars" in that case would be the final nuclear exchange that unified Mars under one government, whilst simultaneously damaging the ecosphere beyond recovery...hence the sudden interest in finding a new place to live.

Or, they were in fact launches from the surface -- just not "cannon shells" that were on a direct trajectory to Earth.

So, let's assume for the moment that there are Martian saucers in orbit. What have they been doing since mid-1901?

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,432 Reply by mj12games

(10 replies, posted in Starmada)

mundungus wrote:

Hey Dan, could you put the latest version of the SXCA up on mj12games.com?  I'd rather not walk around Yahoo!Groups alone at this time of night.

Actually, that's where it's always been:

http://www.mj12games.com/starmada/sxca.xlt

smile

Go to forum: Starmada

3,433 Reply by mj12games

(6 replies, posted in Game Design)

jimbeau wrote:

It is extremely rough, but enough of the core is there to actually play.

Been playing a lot of "Gauntlet" lately?

smile

Go to forum: Game Design

3,434 Reply by mj12games

(6 replies, posted in Game Design)

jimbeau wrote:

Okay, Here it is...

And before anyone asks, "here" means here:

http://mj12games.com/forum/download.php?id=25

Go to forum: Game Design

3,435 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

themattcurtis wrote:

But jeesh, if we're looking at including them after WWI, then it's a ways off, innit?  I don't know the scale of the proposed WWI supplement/series of supplements, but it was my impression that it's going to be a lot of material.  And we haven't touched what happens from 1910-13 yet.

Well, there's no harm in fleshing them out as a "species", even if their arrival in the timeline would have to be a ways off...

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,436 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Game Design)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of kevinsmith67206
> For starters, I'm envisioning a variant of a new skirmish
> system I've been working on.
> The core mechanic for any type of attack is attacker rolls
> and generates one or more successes. The defender rolls it
> armor dice to generate one or more successes, which block the
> attacker's successes on a one for one basis. Any excess
> attacking successes turn into wounds on a one for one basis.
> This system would be similar to Heroquest, Battlemasters,
> Heroscape, Fury of the Clansman, etc.
> Now, a variant on the armor save may emerge where the
> defender rolls a number of armor dice equal to the number of
> hits generated by an attack.
> This is still being negotiated. smile

Yes. Negotiation is good. smile

Seriously -- while I like the idea of a dungeon-bash game, I'm not necessarily wedded to any particular mechanic, so debate away!

Go to forum: Game Design

3,437 Topic by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

From a review of Iron Stars on RPGNow.com:

DISLIKED: Background leaves many questions unanswered and the impact of some of the events is ignored other than to justify the development of Space travel. The background indicates huge, worldwide devastation but then continues with most world events as normal with no impact to the major players.

Just wondering if others observed this lack or found it distracting?

Frankly, I was assuming that the devastation of the Martian attack was limited to the major cities, leaving most of the world untouched-- while this gave the opportunity for players like South Africa and China (perhaps India?) to struggle out from under the foot of colonialism, I didn't think it would take long for the Great Powers to recover and go back to their old ways...

:?:

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,438 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in The Sovereign Stars)

jygro wrote:

Looks pretty sweet!  What is the 'size' of the hex, 2 inches across?

Probably 1.5" or 2".

Dan

Go to forum: The Sovereign Stars

3,439 Reply by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
> Another interesting thing about SB ships is that they do not
> have sheilds.  Does that throw off the S-X construction rules
> any, and I notice that each hull size has a 'Shield Factor'?

Nope. There have been several settings done up for Starmada where the role of shields has either been downgraded or eliminated. Either you build your ships without 'em and rely on special equipment to protect you, or you rename shields as "armor" and continue as normal.

smile

Go to forum: Starmada

3,440 Reply by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> ..so then looking back again at the Yamato (a standard
> battleship in the SB universe), it's Warship Class rating is
> 5 (as are most of the other battleships).  So, does it make
> sense to make the Yamato a Hull 5 to start?

I don't think so. A size 5 would be exceedingly small compared to a size 18. But if we assume the warship class ratings are linear, a conversion to space units -- which then leads to the appropriate hull size -- might be the way to go.

> > You might start at:
> >
> >
> > [/url]
> >
> No link...

www.desslok.com

Go to forum: Starmada

3,441 Reply by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

cricket wrote:

There are no construction rules for the SBFCS game, IIRC, so this question might be difficult to answer, but is hull structure linear? ie., in Starmada, a 2-hull ship is more than twice a 1-hull ship, a 10-hull ship is more than twice a 5-hull ship, etc.

Also, it might be good to know where the Yamato fits in the range of SBFCS ships... is it a mid-sized ship? Large? Extra large? (Extra crispy?)

Go to forum: Starmada

3,442 Reply by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
> > Well, I would think the first step would be to decide what
> the "scale" is... and since it's already there, we should
> probably use the Fleet Combat System data as a starting point.
> >
> > So, what is a "hull point" in Star Blazers?
> >
> Scale...hmm.  The ships themselves are smaller than, say, Cold Navy. 
> More akin to Fleet Action minis from AOG if memory serves. 
> Not sure if that's what your asking.

No... by "scale" I mean how big is "big" in game terms. Actual scales vary from mini to mini, but a 5-hull ship is a 5-hull ship in Starmada.

> As for hull points.  Maybe this will help (using the famous
> Yamato as an example):
> Length: 266m
> Beam: 35m
> Height: 77m
> Mass: 62K tons
> Crew: 114
>
> That said, there are 124 Hull Structure points, and on every
> 12th 'point' of damage there is a critical...and after 60%
> damage, the 'special' weapon (in this case the Wave Motion
> Gun) cannot fire and all other weapons lose their efficiency.

There are no construction rules for the SBFCS game, IIRC, so this question might be difficult to answer, but is hull structure linear? ie., in Starmada, a 2-hull ship is more than twice a 1-hull ship, a 10-hull ship is more than twice a 5-hull ship, etc.

Go to forum: Starmada

3,443 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

Getting us back on track...

Some of us are (off-list) discussing the future of the Iron Stars "timeline", and I'm just wondering --

Where is the "Metal Men" project at the moment, and how/when do people see it intersecting with the "official" Universe, if at all?

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,444 Reply by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
>
> > Perhaps there is room for a forum-wide collaboration?
> >
> I will be more than happy to lend a hand (or do it all myself
> for others to help fix/revise) once I get a handle on the
> system.  I'm surprised that with all the other 'unofficial'
> conversions out there, Star Blazers never made the cut.

Well, I would think the first step would be to decide what the "scale" is... and since it's already there, we should probably use the Fleet Combat System data as a starting point.

So, what is a "hull point" in Star Blazers?

Go to forum: Starmada

3,445 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chad Wilson
>
> > I can tell, life is good on all sides... smile
>
> Which is exactly why we need a useless, futile and infantile
> debate over something that we need not debate!

Great. I'll set up a forum for the discussion.

tongue

Dan

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,446 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
>
> > Pandering to those who resist chnge is like petting a wet monkey
>
> What is wrong with petting a wet monkey?  Other than the
> smell of animal that is furry and wet...

I enjoy petting wet monkeys... it's a nice break from licking damp marmots...

Dan

P.S. I see no reason to fuel the forum vs. mailing list argument; I have done everything I can to make sure all are happy -- and as far as I can tell, life is good on all sides... smile

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,447 Topic by mj12games

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:mj12games@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
> Being a newbie here, I'm wondering if anybody has or knows of
> Star Blazers conversions to Starmada X?  Thanks in advance
> for any info.

Welcome, Kevin! smile

Offhand, I am unaware of any existing conversions to Star Blazers, but I have often pulled out my copy of SBFCS and contemplated such...

Perhaps there is room for a forum-wide collaboration?

Go to forum: Starmada

3,448 Topic by mj12games

(0 replies, posted in Starmada)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mj12games@yahoogroups.com
> Scenario:
> Pirate squadron consisting of a CL and a DD.  A mostly
> helpless fleet of say, five commercial freighters.  Nearby, a
> squadron of Imperials consisting of a Cruiser, Destroyer,
> Light Carrier (with four flights of fighters), and a scout ship.
[...]
> Question:
> How long, in general terms of course, would a scenario like
> this take to play out?  Also how many game turns?

That is difficult to answer. Because there are so many different perceptions about what a CL or DD actually is (for example, I prefer to have my frigates be larger than destroyers... smile ), I can't give you an estimate based solely on this information.

Now, if you give us point cost totals, that's a different story. smile

My experience has been that a battle with 1000 points on a side can be completed in under 2 hours -- assuming two experienced players.

> Disclaimer:
> I know it is hard to answer a question like that, but I'm
> looking for ballpark figures only smile  I went through a
> scenario like this in Victory By Any Means and it seems like
> a really, really cool tactical scenario.  I have the
> StarmadaX rules but have yet to play them. Thank you for any help!

This question will become easier with the release of the VBAM/Starmada crossover book... *plug, plug*

smile

Dan

Go to forum: Starmada

3,449 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

thedugan wrote:

The Dagger...

Very nice.

And for those on the mailing list:

http://mj12games.com/forum/files/dagger01_160.jpg

Dan

Go to forum: Iron Stars

3,450 Topic by mj12games

(3 replies, posted in News)

The first volume of the library: Worlds At War, is now up and available.

http://www.mj12games.com/ironstars/1001.html

Can I get a "woot"?

smile

Go to forum: News