| AronBC | 19 Oct 2009 9:41 a.m. PST |
Anyone have some suggestions on 3d fighter rules? With some of the nifty new paper models I have plans to do a Viper vs Cylon Raider furball in 28mm, with a vision of a sci-fi Mustangs & Messerschmitts variant. I'm just looking for a suitable set of rules, but am currently stumped. Would appreciate any insight. – A |
| quidveritas | 19 Oct 2009 9:46 a.m. PST |
If this is going to be in space I don't know why the big deal for 3-D. Dunno of any future rules that consider gravity or atmospheric issues. mjc |
| Space Monkey | 19 Oct 2009 9:55 a.m. PST |
The Ad Astra 'Attack Vector' game is the one that pops into my head first
link |
 Editor in Chief Bill   | 19 Oct 2009 10:05 a.m. PST |
Would you be using the flight poles, too? |
| Dervel | 19 Oct 2009 11:01 a.m. PST |
Actually I would probably try adapting Blue Max if I wanted a fun 3D fighter game. |
| AronBC | 19 Oct 2009 11:01 a.m. PST |
Want to go 3d for the visual impact. The plan is to use flight poles, fiber glass about 6 feet tall with players walking amongst the play area. Attack Vector looks complicated. Maybe I should think about working up a Bag the Hun varient, but I'm still open to suggestions. Thanks for your feedback so far. |
 Extra Crispy  | 19 Oct 2009 11:14 a.m. PST |
Strangely (to my thinking anyway) 3D seems unpopular in the SciFi set. You either go with Attack Vector or you play a naval game with space ships. Assuming you don't want a very detailed game, use an air rule set instead. The issue with adapting these is the climbing, diving and turning rules assume gravity effects which wouldn't apply in space. You might look at Galactic Knights. Since it is hex based you could just bolt on a simple (even if slightly inaccurate) 3D component. Mark "Extra Crispy" Severin
Owner, Scale Creep Miniatures
ScaleCreep.com
DeepFriedHappyMice.com |
| AronBC | 19 Oct 2009 11:36 a.m. PST |
> The issue with adapting these is the climbing,
> diving and turning rules assume gravity effects
> which wouldn't apply in space. Isn't gravity still an issue for pilots, so such rules could then be assumed related to the Gs a pilot can withstand? I'll take a look at Glactic Knights. |
| Lion in the Stars | 19 Oct 2009 11:52 a.m. PST |
Yes and no. *Most* fictional spacecraft can't push more than about 1.5gee in any direction (barring the Honorverse impeller-drive ships), so there's not really a pilot limitation to the equation. |
| ming31 | 19 Oct 2009 12:25 p.m. PST |
Hard Vacuum uses a decent 2d system , on hexes . a 3d component is needed . |
| emckinney | 19 Oct 2009 12:30 p.m. PST |
You either go with Attack Vector or you play a naval game with space ships. No, no, no. You want the much simpler Squadron Strike system link Mike Zebrowski did a very successful TIE vs. X-Wing game at GenCon link You can download Mike's SSDs at link (it's the "sw.pdf" file). |
| quidveritas | 19 Oct 2009 12:46 p.m. PST |
If you want rules that model 3D flight, Watch Your Six! does this well (shameless plug). Much better than some of the games mentioned above. Plus, the Watch Your Six rules do not rely upon special aircraft sheets for maneuver -- which might be a big plus for you. You will find the basic physics of atmospheric flight modeled pretty well in these rules. You could easily adopt the flight rules which appear in their own section (Rule 10.0 et seq.) and plug in your own combat system without much difficulty. mjc |
| psiloi | 19 Oct 2009 1:36 p.m. PST |
Climbing and diving does not have to be dependent upon gravity. I played a #D star Wars game last year, maneuvering the ships in 45 degrees and climbs simulated the vast openness you would actually encounter in space. There was even a special chart to determine if your opponent was in the cone of fire. Lots of fun! |
 aegiscg47  | 19 Oct 2009 1:38 p.m. PST |
As mentioned above, the best bet is to go with a system like Watch Your Six, Phantoms, M&M, etc., and modify it for sci-fi. True 3D movement in space goes into mind numbing detail that frankly isn't a lot of fun. I would rather play Silent Death or Full Thrust than AVT as they are a lot more fun, even though you learn a lot about realistic maneuver and space combat in AVT. And yes, even though gaming with X-WIngs, Vipers, etc., is a lot of fun, fighters won't work in space for a large number of reasons, but hey, feel free to ignore that physics and science thing! |
| HardRock | 19 Oct 2009 3:09 p.m. PST |
Just use M&M. No accel from diving, no decel from climbing. Create special manuvers for things like spinnig 180 and flying backwards. Henry |
| AronBC | 19 Oct 2009 3:54 p.m. PST |
Thanks emckinney, looks like Squadron Strike is what I need. |
| AdAstraGames | 26 Oct 2009 3:54 p.m. PST |
You have multiple options for fighters in Squadron Strike, and you can dial the 'fiddly' level to whatever works for you. Individual fighters as hero units? Make SI 1-4 ships with fixed forward mounted weapons and have at it, in Mode 1. Excellent for playing Star Wars or Battlestar on the "individual fighter pilot" level. Want fighters in flights flitting between fleets of titanic carriers? Use the fighter rules in the book where fighters are an arm of combat. You can also turn on (and turn off) options that will alter the relative effectiveness of fighters versus ships; if you want to recreate "sorta kinda modern air combat" with fighters chucking missiles and trying to madly evade, you us torpedoes as the fighter armament and let fly… |
