Uncle_Joe wrote: 2) How usable is VBAM and the crossover Starmada companion? Starmada is a wonderful set of rules for tactical combat that allows a lot of variety with little complexity. Is VBAM a similar product for the strategic scale? I downloaded the demo PDF for VBAM, but that really doesnt get much into the nuts and bolts of the system. I had Starfire:New Empires once upon a time but never played it as it was just too darned cumbersome. Is VBAM unwieldy or is it something that can realistically be played by 'normal' players.
VBAM's level of detail is set at a point where you aren't dealing with the minutiae that you might encounter in a campaign system like Imperial Starfire (which I think is one or two revisions after New Empires). You worry about more discrete Census, not large population numbers, and you don't have to worry about missile funds or tracking things at that level.
The demo isn't all that forthcoming about firm details; it does however give an overview of some of the different elements that you can expect to find in the book.
Go0gleplex wrote: I've not heard anything bad from the folks that have played the VBAM rules either.
Oooh! Oohh! “I played it many times, and hated each and every time. I hope that someone strings them up and leaves them out in the desert to die a horrible, painful death. Especially the guy that wrote the Companion... I hate that guy.”
Taltos wrote: Basic VBAM is not cumbersome, and surprisingly filled with details at the same time. Now, there are lots of optional rules that can extend play until it is complex as you could wish.
At its most basic level, VBAM can be used as a simple campaign companion for Starmada. You can add on or strip off as much detail as you want. The game is all about optional rules and letting you tailor it to how you want to play. The first several games of VBAM I played, I stripped out the economics and Intel rules out and played with alternatives. Everything else worked. Then, as I warmed up to portions of the rules, I added them back on... and then wrote more. And more. And then put them in a big book of optional rules.
I am scary.
Uncle_Joe wrote: Is it possible to play the VBAM rules without adding the VBAM altered ship mechanics (and still without a ton of hassle)?
As previously answered, the KEB mechanics and other special items aren't special to VBAM itself, just the Boltian/Kuissian setting that was being presented. VBAM is setting neutral, so the effects of such things as KEB (or standard SX Defense) are abstracted into ship statistics, statistics that are only important if you are using the CSCR to resolve some combats strategically. Otherwise the only unit statistics that are strictly important (IIRC) are construction cost and maintenance cost. Everything else is pretty secondary.
-Tyrel
