| Brood Brother |
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Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 7:52 am
Posts: 10348
Location: Malta
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Hi all,
well, pics of PAINTED models will have to wait until after November and the final Epicomp rush! 
As for a more detailed review - here goes - but keep in mind I havn't played the game yet!
Now - the two books I have bought - the core rules and 'The Merchant War' expansion have a similar format, which means some fluff, basic rules, more fluff, more rules, ship types, scenarios, rules for designing your own ships, and a full list of ships taking part inthe scenarios described. Illustrations are either digitised photos related to the periods concerned (1901-1914 in these first two rule books - as the French, US and Orange Free State have not been mentioned yet, I feel there's more to come); or computer graphic images of the ships. Images of Aeronefs are provided to help the player identify 'counts as' models from this range, as Ironstars models are only available for some British and Russian ships so far.
The rule book includes the card counters and the templates mentioned above; the 1st supplement (Merchant War, or MW) includes some errate to the rule book - nothing serious.
Both books tackle the rules in similar ways: examples are provided, the rules are clearly explained, and several advanced rules which one may choose to use or omit are presented. This means that the players can design the level of detail of the game to some extent - something I approve of. 
The rules require initiative determination, followed by movement for the player with initiative, then movement by the payer which has lost initiative; firing in the same order, and finally an end phase. The sequence of movement and firing is also regulated by ship type, something which is refined in the second book (MW) by the introduction of Fast Attack Craft. A series of dice is required - the ones listed in my previous post are all used - mainly for firing. Movement is relatively simple, but adds a nice touch by introducing the effects of momentum in space. Shooting is effected by different classes of guns, and other weapons such as at least 3 different types of rocket, ether torpedoes, arc lighting projectors, a great big keel gun, poison gas, machine weapons and mines. Good to see that this variety has not introduced terrible complications to the game works. Both shooting and movement require a good deal of addition of die rolls and modifiers, which may be lenghty. I do not see this as a problem, though, as the modifiers are quite clever and appear to be effective, although games with several ships per side might be slowed down.
Other features of interest are shipboard devices which can be added to a ship to improve its performance; merchant ship rules in 'The Merchant War' (well, d'oh!  ); and the fast attack craft. Oh, and did I mention Q-ships? Yay!
The ship design rules appear to be easy to use, although I have not tried them out yet. There are rules for ship classes in the cenre pages of both boks, and around 20 pages of rules for individual ships mentioned in the scenarios in EACH of the 2 books - too many, perhaps, or enough to keep anyone happy.
The scenarios are interesting, and add to the background of the game. The rules include 5 scenarios for British, Russian, Chinese and Japanese ships, and range from a straight battle to the involvement of a potentially traitorous Russian revolutionary vessel - not to mention a one-on-one encounter between two capital ships. MW adds 11 (!) more, with merchant escorts, fast attack ships, a full blown battle between large fleets, and an attack on a British space station. Blank ship statistics sheets for photocopying and an index round up these useful books. And MW includes a very useful reference sheet for photocopying.
Now if only I can find someone willing around to try it out....
By the way, MW also gives a strong impression that adds to evidence of future additions - there's a feel that the Great War will also be fought out in space.
Ship reviews - later!
cheers all. ?
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Back from oblivion (again)?
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